Feb. 11, 2022

168: Bible Questions: What does the Bible say about suicide?

168: Bible Questions: What does the Bible say about suicide?

The Bible gives us much help and hope

The Bible includes stories of suicides, stories of assisted suicides, and stories of suicidal people -- some of them BIG SHOTS in Scripture -- Moses, Solomon, Elijah

Historically, the Church (Catholic and Protestant) have not done a very good job of communicating about suicide. The Catholic Church labeling all suicide a 'MORTAL SIN' that was not forgiven, while the Protestant Church not talking much about the topic at all.

The Bible gives principles that help -- God is the giver of life and has the sole right to take it, and that taking it is sin

However, it is a very broken world, and many who take their lives are in dire straights. The loss of HOPE is the primary factor in most who take their lives.

When Jesus said, "Paid in full" (It is finished) on the cross, He meant sins -- past, present, and future -- were forgiven for those covered by His blood. That would include the sin of suicide. This act, while serious, does not keep a person who is forgiven in Christ from Heaven or separate him or her from God.

Hope fades when one believes their circumstances will never change. The Bible say God is the God of Hope and can change any situation (or be present with us in those situations).

We are called to be watchmen on the walls, watching for the loss of hope. Signs include speaking about death, giving things away, isolating, saying things that sound like good-byes, and suddenly appearing to find peace when a decision is made to end one's life

Suicide is irreversible and leaves a gaping hope in many lives of those left behind. We should love on and encourage those left behind after a loved one takes their life.

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168: Bible Questions: What does the Bible say about suicide?

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Show Notes
Transcript

The Bible gives us much help and hope!

Suicide has impacted all of us, and left huge holes for those left behind

The Church has not helped over the years in providing guidance from the Bible for those who are suicidal and those who have been left behind. They meant well -- trying to prevent people from committing this grave, irreversible act.

The Bible gives examples of suicide, assisted suicide, and suicidal people.

The Bible points to the loss of HOPE as the primary reason people no longer want to live

The Bible teaches God and God's Son are the key to having hope no matter what kind of grave circumstances we face.

We are called to be our brother keeper and watchmen on the walls when it comes to those how have no hope, thinking things will never change. We should watch for those signs.

We should love on those who have lost loved ones, and remind them that God has a future and a hope for them, too

Transcript

Episode 168: Bible Questions: What does the Bible say about Suicide?

It's in the top 10 leading causes of death, the intentional taking of one's life suicide. I've certainly experienced my share. I was an elementary school student. When I heard about the man in the next town. He'd accidentally backed over his little boy in the driveway. It wasn't until after this desponded father took his own life that the clerk and the hardware store that sold them, the ammunition understood his strange comment. He only needed one shell. In my teenage years, a little closer to home was a college football savant who was distantly related to me. He went off to pursue his dream at college. When that dream shattered, he took his own life in the garage of his college apartment.

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00:00:46

As a young pastor, I was called by a local mortician, two men bikers, dear friends, tragically, both died on the same day. The police believe one accidentally shot. His best friend then turned the gun on himself. I was asked to do the funeral service for the shooter. Most of us, 30 and over. Remember the vivid scenes of jumpers from the world trade center on 9 11, 2 to 300 of them. Some holding hands jumped from 80 plus floors, intentionally taking their own lives before the raging fires behind them took it. I was crushed when I heard about comedian Robin Williams, intentionally taking his own life.

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00:01:30

As he faced the inevitable deterioration from his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia. More recently, an acquaintance told me about a friend of his, a dentist who just prior to the COVID pandemic, had invested deeply to set up his dental office. He was a foreign origin and between the pandemic and stereotyping, nobody would come to his clinic. He intentionally took his life believing. That was the only way he could provide financially for his family. In my current church, a 13 year old boy bullied at school, came home from school and intentionally took his young life.

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00:02:13

And I can't get out of my head. The 30 something woman, mother of two young girls from my previous church, deeply troubled with years of mental illness, who intentionally took her life. My last memory of her in a worship service oblivious to those around her, her hands raised in the air worshiping Jesus. We've all seen it. It's touched our lives dramatically. People we love ripped away by suicide, which leads to this Bible question. What does the Bible have to say about suicide? The intentional taking of one's own life. Thankfully it says quite a bit, but the church over the centuries, hasn't done such a great job in communicating the scriptures message for centuries.

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00:03:01

The Catholic church taught that it was a mortal sin. Mortal sins are those concerning grave matters, committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent. Mortal sins would separate a person from their relationship with God. That is, it would keep you from heaven. The thought was if the last action of your life is a grave, intentional, conscious mortal sin, it would not be forgiven. Protestants didn't do any better for Protestants. The intentional taking of one's life. Suicide was discussed much like parents or big brothers would discuss stuff.

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00:03:43

They wanted us to avoid when we were little things like wild animals or possibly dangerous ponds on our property. My own brothers had some interesting theories about what rabies treatments look like. That scared me to death. And there's been more than one set of parents or siblings that have told children. If they went to near a dangerous pond, a monster would come out and eat them. The positive of those stories was it did keep some children away from wild animals or dangerous Pines. The downside was lifelong trauma. And the small fact that what they said was not true.

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00:04:26

Thankfully, the Catholic church has come around at least somewhat. They now acknowledge that in some cases, such as extreme mental illness or excruciating physical pain, a person may not have full knowledge or be able to give deliberate consent to this grave act of taking their own life. So what does the Bible have to say about suicide? First? It gives specific examples of suicide. In second, Samuel, we have a HIPAA fell, a counselor to David's son, Absalom who losing his influence, goes home and deliberately takes his own life. In episode 63 Kings of the hill north Zimri a man who'd been king for seven days.

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00:05:12

Realizes he's about to be assassinated. He enters his palace and sets it on fire on himself, taking his own life in the new Testament. Jesus discipled, Judas despondent. After betraying Jesus takes his life. We looked at that in episode one 14, the Bible also reports to assisted suicides. In episode 50, the book of judges, the judge, a BIM aleck wounded by a stone dropped on his head orders, his sidekick to finish the job and an episode 52 and 53 in first, Samuel Israel's first king saw also wounded in battle begs his armor bearer to finish him off.

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00:05:55

When the armor bearer won't do it. Saul falls on his own sword later in second, Samuel and a Malakai claims that even that didn't finish Saul off. So he completed the job. Scripture also gives examples of men godly men who had suicidal tendencies in episode 42, we find one of the big shots. Moses beside himself, he's responsible for the Israelites in the wilderness. They're whining and complaining and wanting to go back to Egypt. Moses has a conversation with God. You can read about it in numbers, 11, he's really angry.

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00:06:37

And beside himself, he says to God, if I have any favor in your eyes at all, kill me. Now in episode 64, the big shot prophet of the old Testament, Elijah coming off a real high, the victory over the profits of bale. And as Shira on Mount Carmel runs for his life. From a furious Jesu rebel to pleaded exhausted and depressed in the wilderness. He begs God to take his life. Solomon in his diary, Ecclesiastes is after pursuing pleasure, reaches a point where he quote, hated life toward the back of the old Testament. The prophet Jonah having completed his mission is so angry at God that he wishes to die.

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00:07:22

And in the new Testament, Paul, the church planning apostle the one who wrote over half the letters of the new Testament reports in second Corinthians, a time he and his team had been pushed beyond their ability to endure. And they despaired of life itself. Aside from those examples, scripture gives specific teaching about life and the taking of one's life. It teaches us directly that God is the giver of life and implies. The giver is the one who has the right to take it away. In episode 38, we looked at God's family rules. The 10 commandments, one of those rules is no murder. A likely application is you don't have the right to murder yourself either in the gospel of John Jesus weighs in on the matter in John chapter eight, he calls Satan a murderer from the beginning that it is Satan's character to go after human life.

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And in John 10, 10, he says this, the thief comes to kill and to destroy, I came that you might have life and have it abundantly scripture. Also doesn't sugar coat, the impact of sin on our broken world, our broken bodies are broken emotions, minds and hearts that abundant life that Jesus claims he came to bring back to us was twisted and rich the way by sin. The Bible also clearly teaches that suicide does not separate a child of God from God, for eternity. That's important. In episode one 16, we looked at Jesus' crucifixion from the cross.

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00:09:03

One of Jesus' last words was literally one word to Telus tie. It is finished, which is better translated, paid in full. In that episode, it was clear what was paid in full when Jesus died was the debt of sin for those covered by the blood of Jesus paid in full past, present, and future. It's hard not to conclude that would include an act of suicide. And the Bible puts its finger on the primary issue that leads to intentional attempts to take one's own life. Our broken world, and the enemy can slowly leak away or suddenly evaporate.

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00:09:43

Our hope hope is the issue. And the loss of it is almost always behind someone's attempt or success at taking one's own life. The term hope comes up 137 times in the Bible. And when it comes to hope, it gives both bad news and good news. The bad news is that apart from Christ and the abundant life, he intends to return to us. Hope is evasive read Ephesians two 12. But the good news is Jesus is our hope. Paul, Peter and John writers of the new Testament, all plead with us to set our hope on Jesus.

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00:10:24

Peter says through Jesus, we're born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. When I come by these passages with my students of suicide assisted suicide or suicidal thoughts in scripture, I give them the story of rats in a rain barrel. There's only one thing I remember from my college psychology class, rats in a rain barrel experiments were done with rats who are great swimmers in one group, rats were put into a barrel of water and allowed to swim. Another group was also put into a barrel of water to swim. After a brief period of time, the first group was pulled out, dry it off, fed, played with warmed up and put back in the water with the second group, they were just left to swim.

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00:11:13

This experiment was repeated a number of times each time with the same results. The group of rats who were pulled out, dried off, fed warmed up and played with then put back into the water swam. As I recall for days, the group that was left to swim drown within a matter of a few hours, the researchers concluded. The only difference was the first group had a hope of rescue. The second group gave up, they dubbed the conclusion learned helplessness. That's what happens to people when hope slowly leaks away or suddenly evaporates.

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00:11:53

We're also told by scripture we are our brother's keeper. We are to be Watchman on the walls. Proverbs 24 says rescue those who are staggering to slaughter, hold them back. I tell my students that and say, please watch for the signs, comments about death. Suddenly giving things away, isolating yourself from others, saying subtle things that sound like goodbyes. And often someone who's been down for a very long time, suddenly acts like they found peace. They haven't found peace. They've made a decision. So if hope has evaporated in you or a friend and you're struggling, what do you need?

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00:12:38

Well, let's start with what God gave to Elijah. In first Kings 19, God gave him two good meals. He gave him several nights of deep rest. And then he gave him a friend, the male clinics in my city and the Mayo clinic has a wonderful place called Generoso. For those who are struggling with hopelessness and suicidal thoughts, part of what they do is lots of rest, good food and sessions with others, friends who are going through the same thing. They also realize folks struggling with hope may require meds. That help often meds developed by people and companies as blessings from God to bring a more abundant life to his people.

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00:13:24

But I want you to remember the biggest thing that's necessary is the infusion of hope and that hope. And the source of that hope according to scripture is the God of all hope. The savior who brings hope, the savior, who, according to Hebrews four 15, understands that the very things that leaked out or evaporated our hope to begin with here's what Hebrews four 15 says, Jesus understands our situation because he has been tested in all the same ways we have really, Jesus has experienced the things that steal our hope. That's what scripture says. Maybe we need a Bible question on that.

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00:14:06

So here's the takeaway. The enemy comes to steal and kill and destroy. God wants you to have a life. Don't take your life. Please reach out to a friend, a pastor, a suicide hotline. God can give you hope and a life and a future for those, you know, who've lost someone to suicide. Let's reach out and love on them. The hole that's left behind is enormous, but the Bible is clear. God has a hope and a future for you too.

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