Suicide, Salvation, and Eternal Security
Ever since the publication of my book God’s Healing for Life’s Losses: How to Find Hope When You’re Hurting, I receive many emails, phone calls, and questions about grief. One of the most difficult questions I hear is from family members who have lost a loved one to suicide. 
The question often sounds something like this.
“We are confident that our mother (or father, brother, sister, daughter, son) was a Christian by faith in Christ. Yet we have heard some say that if a believer commits suicide they lose their salvation. What does the Bible say?”
Shared Sorrow Is Endurable Sorrow
Any response to this question must first, of course, address the grief and agony of the surviving family members. The loss of a loved one is always a legitimate cause for great grief. Loss by suicide heaps even more grief and pain upon a family.
Christians, in particular, seem to struggle with “permission to grieve.” That was one reason I wrote God’s Healing for Life’s Losses: to help Christians struggling with any life loss to understand that the Bible encourages grief and provides a way toward growth and healing hope.
Any response must also include the encouragement for the family to cling to Christ and to the Body of Christ. No one should suffer grief alone. As I say in the book, “shared sorrow is endurable sorrow.”
Salvation and Eternal Security
Regarding the specific question concerning a loved one’s eternal security, my response, in summary, usually sounds something like the following.
There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that a believer in Christ can ever lose their salvation, their eternal security. The Apostle Paul is clear that there is now therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Paul continues in that chapter to state that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ, including death—by any means (Romans 8:28-39).
Jesus Himself guarantees us: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-30). Jesus died to save us from our sins—every sin, including suicide.
Doubt and Faith
Further, even doubt and loss of hope is not an evidence of loss of faith. In Mark 9:24, we read of the father of a sick child who said to Jesus, “I believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” The rest of the passage indicates that this father had faith, though like all of us, he struggled to overcome his doubts.
The Apostle Thomas doubted, yet his doubt was mingled with faith—saving faith, belief in Christ (John 21:24-29). The Apostle Paul himself honestly admitted that he despaired of life and felt the sentence of death (2 Corinthians 1:8-9), yet no one would question his saving faith and eternal security in Christ.
The “Unpardonable Sin”
Some ask whether suicide might be the “unpardonable sin.” The only unpardonable sin is to willfully and permanently reject God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:36).
Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death atones for all the sins of his people—past, present, and future (Romans 3:25). Believers in Christ enjoy God’s enduring and complete forgiveness for all their sins (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
Join the Conversation
What additional biblical hope do you share with people concerning a Christian’s eternal security in Christ?
Thanks, Bob! This is a question I have often thought about, but it is good to hear a scriptural answer.
Ken, I’m glad the post was helpful to you. Bob
Thank you for this timely article! My 13 year old son and I were just having this conversation yesterday. He had heard someone say that those who commit suicide don’t go to heaven, and told them he thought that was wrong, because “no one can pluck them out of My hand”. Then he read something confusing in Pilgram’s Progress, and came to discuss it with me. We’ll read this article together!
Kim, God’s timing is beautiful!
Thank you Bob. Having lost a son to suicide, this article has been very helpful for me personally and I will definitely use it in our GriefShare classes.
Joan, I thank the Lord that these words from His Word ministered to you. I’m praying for you. In Christ’s Grace, Bob
Bob,Thank you so much for your comments on suicide. I am downloading and will keep it in my GS Notebook with Lession 7 “The Uniqueness of Grief, pt. 1. I have always wondered how I would respond to our GS group if I am asked that question. Now I have a respons on hand.
Ione, So glad that this will minister to you and that through you it will minister to many others. Thank you for your ministry. Bob
Bob, thank you so much for the helpful article. We lost our daughter to suicide three years ago and I never doubted she went to heaven. It was good to see specific scripture mentioned to back this up. The thought that our daughter is with the lord has helped our healing a great deal!
Annette, I thank the Lord that these Scriptures and the truth of God’s Word is ministering Christ’s healing hope to you. I am praying for you. Bob
Bob, great words of wisdom! My husband committed suicide over 6 years ago. He had given his heart to Christ many years before. He also struggled with an undiagnoised mental illness… manic depression/bi-polar. Hindsight is 20/20… he didn’t stand a chance battling that illness on his own. However, I know God created him, loved him, and knew he had this disease. I can’t see my loving and compassionate God turning my husband away because he didn’t survive his illness.
Thank you!
Amy Polzin
GriefShare Facilitator, Jacob’s Well
Chippewa Falls, WI
Amy, I can only imagine what you have experienced as you have walked through your husbands bi-polar illness and his suicide. There is no way any of us could find healing and hope apart from Christ. I can also, as the song says, only imagine what your experience will be like when you see Christ one day and when you re-unite with your husband–now healed, glorified, and every tear wiped away. Bob
Bob, thank you so much for allowing God to use you to bring hope and healing with such a difficult subject. I am a facilitator in GriefShare and we hardly go through a session that someone isn’t struggling with the death of someone to suicide. I lost my sister to suicide 10 years ago and it has been a difficult journey. I am so thankful we serve a loving and forgiving God. I love the picture of Christ wiping those final tears from our eyes. I will be adding your book to my library and will use your words of comfort in the days ahead. Thank you again for your healing encouragement. In Christ, Jane
Jane, I also love the picture of Christ wiping those final tears from our eyes. I can only imagine. Thank you for your encouraging words. I’m praying for you and for your ministry. Bob