Ask the Counselor: Suicide, Salvation, and Eternal Security 

In yesterday’s post here at RPM Ministries, I asked you to pray for Rick and Kay Warren as they grieve the death of their son who took his life.

In light of that post, today I want to address the question of suicide, salvation, and eternal security. I also encourage you to read David Murray’s post: 7 Questions About Suicide and Christians.

The Question 

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 that ever indicates 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).

What If I’m Thinking of Suicide?

Note: The following is excerpted and developed from David Murray’s post, 7 Questions About Suicide and Christians.

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, ask God to deliver you from temptation and talk to your loved ones, or your pastor, or your doctor. Or, phone the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

In Broken Minds, Pastor Steve Bloem gives a number of reasons he has, at times, used to convince himself not to take his life:

• It is a sin and would bring shame to Christ and His church.

• It would please the devil and would weaken greatly those who are trying to fight him.

• It would devastate family members and friends, and you may be responsible for them following your example if they come up against intense suffering.

• It may not work and you could end up severely disabled but still trying to fight depression.

• It is true – our God is a refuge (Ps. 9:10)

• Help is available. If you push hard enough, someone can assist you to find the help you need.

• If you are unsaved, you will go to hell. This is not because of the acts of suicide but because all who die apart from knowing Christ personally will face an eternity in a far worse situation than depression.

• If you are a Christian, then Jesus Christ is interceding for you, that your faith will not fail.

• God will keep you until you reach a day when your pain will truly be over.

Join the Conversation 

What additional biblical hope do you share with people concerning a Christian’s eternal security in Christ?

What additional biblical counsel do you share with family members grieving the loss of a loved one to suicide?

What additional biblical counsel do you share with someone struggling with thoughts of self-harm?

RPM Ministries: Equipping You to Change Lives with Christ’s Changeless Truth