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NASB | Exodus 20:13 ¶ "You shall not murder. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 20:13 ¶ "You shall not commit murder (unjustified, deliberate homicide). [Gen 9:6; Ex 21:12, 14, 18] |
Subject: Can one who commits suicide be saved? |
Bible Note: Greetings Pam, From a Biblical perspective, the issues of life and death lie in the sovereign hands of God alone. Job said to God, "Man's days are determined; you [O God] have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed" (Job 14:5, NIV). David said to God, "All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16, NIV). Also, the Bible tells us "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13), since man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). Therefore, God prohibits murder of any kind, even though suicide is certainly not the "unforgivable sin." There were times when the servants of God were so severely tested and distressed that they wished for their own death (1 Kings 19:4; 2 Cor. 1:8). But God always rescued them. Therefore, when we despair, we must have faith that God will see us through. We need not take matters into our own hands. Of all the suicides that are recorded in the Bible (Judges 16:30; 1 Sam. 31:1-6; 2 Sam. 17:23; 1 Kings 16:18; Jonah 1:12 (suggested); Matthew 27:5; Acts 16:27-28 (attempted)), I cannot find one single New Testament instance in which a born again believer took their own life. However, the only "Biblically justifiable" suicide that I can find in the Bible would be that which you have already mentioned - Samson (Judges 16:30), who was heralded as a hero of the faith (Hebrews 11:32), despite his suicide. What I mean by "Biblically justifiable" is that the Bible justifies the faith of the person despite the act of suicide. But you must also consider that in Judges 16:30, the Philistines would have eventually sought to kill Samson, and they were giving praise to their own god (Judges 16:23). Therefore, God used Samson not only to avenge Samson for his eyes, but to avenge Himself in regards to the Philistines who "assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god." So there were many other circumstances involved in Samson's death than just his own committing suicide. Blessings to you, Makarios |