Suicide is an all-too-common part of culture. From the tragic and unexpected death of famous actor-comedian
Robin Williams this past week to the frightening and bizarre case just two
weeks ago of a young twelve year boy in Michigan who stabbed his nine year old
friend to death before telling first responders, “I want to die, I don’t want
to live on this earth anymore,” we all have become accustomed to this
disturbing new trend in society.
As the news continues to cover these
sobering, heart-wrenching tragedies I have noticed a lack of discussion on what
the Gospel has to say about suicide. While other, more qualified professionals
and even lay-counselors can debate the exact and often confusing motives behind
a person taking their life, I think most of us find our hearts and minds sincerely asking, “is there hope for someone
who commits suicide?” If we are honest, many of us want that question answered
just as badly as the reasons behind a loved ones tragic, self-inflicted death.
The question then is quite simple: can the Gospel bring any hope in the midst
of the tragedy of suicide?
Why Suicide is a Tragedy
We all seem to intuitively know that suicide
is a deep, acute tragedy. We sometimes even struggle to say the word itself
without lowering our voices or looking around us to make sure no third parties
are listening. This discomfort is
widespread; almost everyone can name at least one person in their lives who
has either committed suicide or been directly affected by it. But why is suicide such a dark tragedy? Why
do we all instinctively and inwardly mourn in a totally unique fashion (the
mourning of a person who passed away from cancer is markedly different than a
self-inflicted death) when someone, whether a friend, family member, or someone
we simply hear about, takes their life?
Suicide is a devastating loss because when someone takes their life, an uniquely
created image-bearer of God is destroyed. As divinely crafted, uniquely created
humans, people alone stand as the pinnacle of creation. God said when he
created man and woman:
“Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness. And let them have dominion over…all the earth…so God created man in
his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created
them,” Genesis 1:26-27.
A couple unique truths should stand out to us
here. One, we should notice the heavy emphasis God places on His loving
creation of man and woman. Notice that in two verses the author mentions God
“making” or “creating” mankind four times. Four times in just two sentences. In
Genesis 2 we read that rather than just speak creation into existence like He
has done all other things, God particularly molds and fashions Adam and Eve
with His hands before breathing life into them. There is a closeness to God
that each of us as humans can enjoy that is unmatched in the rest of creation.
Second, we should notice humanity has been
given an extraordinary calling – God gave us dominion over the entire earth as
His representatives. Before mass media and communication existed, ancient kings
and emperors would often reign over vast tracts of land that they themselves
might never see. In order to remind those who were a part of their kingdom of
their authority, kings, emperors, and pharaohs would set up statues or images
of themselves throughout their lands. Thus an image would serve a representative
of the ruler of the land. While he himself might not be present, his image
reminded his people of his authority. To be
made in God’s image then means to be specifically created to show all of the
world who God is and what He is like. To display His grace, kindness, joy,
creativity, work-ethic, love, holiness, and more to everyone and everything
around us.
Like a dark cloud that blocks out the sun, suicide obscures our view of God.
When a human who was uniquely, specifically, intentionally created by God to
show the world some piece of His greatness, forfeits that calling through
suicide, the world has suffered a great loss. What’s more, as the author of life, God is never
revealed when a person kills themselves. Suicide is an unspeakable tragedy in
part, because it is a surrendering of the highest calling by the highest, most
beloved beings in all of creation. We were made to image the God who deeply
loves us, not surrender that privilege through suicide.
When humans, God’s most wonderful, cherished
creatures, commit suicide, the universe is robbed of a unique soul with a
unique calling. Indeed to quote one author from this past week, “Robin
William’s death is a tragedy not because of his celebrity, but because he was
human.”
The Gospel and Suicide
Does the Gospel offer any real hope in this gloomy arena? Can the death of Jesus
really offer healing, hope, and peace for those affected by suicide? Or even
those who commit suicide?
Yes. Resoundingly, emphatically – yes.
To be fair, the Bible has little to say directly about
the topic of suicide. The only reference to suicide in the New Testament is a
brief story of the disciple-turned-traitor Judas hanging himself. Every other account
of suicide is in the Old Testament and is merely a story, not a
theological treatise, on a man ending his life. To my knowledge Jesus does not
broach the topic of suicide in any of His teachings, nor do any of the writings
in the New Testament.
For some reason, suicide has for some time
been viewed as the unpardonable sin. Perhaps this ties back to the famous Inferno by Dante that firmly plants
anyone who commits suicide in a gloomy corner of hell. But the Bible says no such thing. In context, the unforgivable sin has more to do with some
kind of denial of the Holy Spirit and rejection of Jesus (Matthew 12:31-32,
Mark 3:28-29), not suicide. So if suicide is barely discussed at all by the
Bible and is not even remotely in view when Jesus discussed the unpardonable
sin, where can we turn to see if the Gospel offers hope?
Romans 5 offers us the answer. After spending
some time showing that all people, regardless of age, race, creed,
nationality, gender, or class are guilty of cosmic rebellion and sin against
God, the apostle Paul showed the only possible hope for our rescue from the
death we each have earned by our sin is the death of someone else in our place.
Only through some perfect, obedient substitute could our sins be punished,
justice be satisfied, and our lives be spared. This was the mission of Jesus.
To build God’s Kingdom on earth by standing in our place and taking our
punishment and making those who trust and follow Him, His own special people.
This rescue is fueled by a love and an inexplicable, un-earnable kindness
(grace) toward us that is radical:
“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the
more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through
righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans
5:20-21
Where sin abounded, grace (God’s un-earnable,
compassionate affection toward us) hyper-abounded. Where sin and death
flourished, grace outpaced and outgrew it even then. If sin were the Mississippi
River, grace would be the Pacific Ocean. If sin were to score 90 on the exam,
grace scores a 110. If sin were represented by the Empire State Building, grace
would be Mount Everest. That is the radical truth
of the Gospel. When sin steps in and does unspeakable damage that seems
irreversible, the grace of God comes in to forgive that wrong, sparing the
sinner-turned-child-of-God of eternal destruction.
This is why Paul can triumphantly say that
everyone who is called by God will one day be made right with God (justified),
made to look more like Jesus (sanctified), and one day fully and finally freed
from sin and death itself (glorified) (Romans 8:30). The chain is unbroken: one
leads to the other to the other to the other. Belief leads to forgiveness and
peace with God, to following Jesus and looking more like him, to finally being
reunited with Him beyond the stain, power, and harm of sin and death one day in
His Kingdom. This certain, unflinching chain of events is sure because our
rescue hinges not on our works but on God’s grace. Where our sin abounded,
grace – through Jesus’ death in our place on the cross – has hyper-abounded. So
radical is this grace that God says of those who have trusted Him:
“I will remember their sins and their lawless
deeds no more,” (Hebrews 10:17).
Grace obliterates and overcomes sin and death.
How does suicide play into this? Whether or not a person
commits suicide motivated by mental illness, a drunken or drug induced
overdose, or yes, even by their own choice, the un-earnable, compassionate,
radical grace of God is enough to cover even that. Sin and death are undeniably
linked in Scripture – where one is, the other soon follows. So even if someone
commits suicide with diminished self-control and capacity, their death
nonetheless is a startling reminder that they, like all of us, are a sinner in
need of rescue.
The question then, when each of us stands
before the Lord after our death will not be “were you good enough to get into
heaven?” or even “you committed suicide, how could you possibly think you could
enter into my kingdom?” The question for all of us will simply be, what did we
do with the free gift God offered us? Did we accept in faith and lay down our
spiritual sin, pride, and rebellion. Did we let God become the King in our
lives again and stop trying to reign ourselves? Or did we persist in stubborn,
proud rebellion until the very end, refusing to acknowledge Him as King and
neglecting, even scorning, the offer of rescue He gives us through His Son?
So can a legitimate, follower of the Lord
despair so deeply and take their life yet still find rescue in
eternity? While the Bible never answers this question head on, the answer seems
to be, yes. Where sin and death abound, grace and life abound all the more. Two
years ago I attended the funeral of a friend who I genuinely believe knew
the Lord, trusted him, and followed him. Yet in a season of dark, trying
despair, he took his life. While his death was shocking and unnerving, the surety
of his rescue is not in question. It never depended on him in the first place – it
always rested on Jesus providing and him simply trusting in Christ. So even
when my friend took his life almost two years ago to the day, his and my hope
remain firm because it never rested in his good deeds to save him. It always
rested on Jesus, and though sin and death may abound in this life, for those in
Christ grace and life abound, all the more.
Resources:
If suicide or thoughts of suicide are
something you struggle with or if you know someone struggling, I hope these
resources will encourage and help you:
- Suicide and Eternity: Podcast from RADIUS Church
- When the Darkness Will Not Lift: An excellent, compassionate book about struggling with depression, despair, and mental illness as a believer by John Piper
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: A national service that provides 24-hour services to anyone contemplating suicide
