1.
Abimelech – (Judges 9:54) After having his
skull crushed under a millstone that was dropped by a woman from the Tower of
Shechem, Abimelech called for his armor bearer to kill him with a sword. He did
not want it said that a woman had killed him.
2. Samson – (Judges
16:29-31) By collapsing a building, Samson sacrificed his own life, but in the process destroyed
thousands of enemy Philistines.
3. Saul and his armor bearer – (1
Samuel 31:3-6)
After losing his sons and all of his troops in battle, and his sanity long before, King Saul, assisted by his armor bearer ended his life. Then Saul's servant killed himself.
After losing his sons and all of his troops in battle, and his sanity long before, King Saul, assisted by his armor bearer ended his life. Then Saul's servant killed himself.
4. Ahithophel – (2
Samuel 17:23) Disgraced and rejected by Absalom,
Ahithophel went home, put his affairs in order and then hung himself.
5. Zimri – (1
Kings 16:18) Rather than being taken prisoner,
Zimri set the king's palace on fire and died in the flames.
6. Judas – (Matthew
27:5) After he betrayed Jesus, Judas
Iscariot was overcome with remorse and hung
himself.
In each of these instances (except
that of Samson) suicide is not presented favorably. These were ungodly men
acting in desperation and disgrace. Samson's case was different.
And while his life was not a model
for holy living, Samson was honored among the faithful heroes
of Hebrews eleven. Some consider Samson's final act
an example of martyrdom, a sacrificial death that allowed him to fulfill his
God-assigned mission.[i]
There's no doubt that suicide is a
terrible tragedy. For a Christian it is an even greater tragedy because it is a
waste of a life that God intended to use in a glorious way.
It would be difficult to argue that
suicide is not a sin, for it is the taking of a human life…The Bible clearly
expresses the sanctity of human life (Exodus
20:13). God is the author of life, thus,
the giving and taking of life ought to remain in his hands (Job
1:21).
In Deuteronomy 30:9-20 (NLT), you can hear the heart of God crying out for his people to
choose life:
"Today I have given you the choice between life and
death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness
the choice you make.
Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your
descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God,
obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your
life..."
So, can a sin as grave as suicide
destroy one's salvation? The Bible
tells us that at the moment of salvation a believer's sins are forgiven (John
3:16; 10:28). When we become a child of God, all of our sins (even those committed after salvation) are no
longer held against us.
Ephesians 2:8 (NLT) says, "God saved you by his grace when you
believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God…"
In the same way that our good works don't save us, our bad ones…cannot keep us
from salvation…
There is only one sin that can
separate us from God and send a person to Hell…The only unforgivable sin is
refusing to accept Christ as Lord
and Savior. Anyone who turns to Jesus for forgiveness is made righteous by his blood (Romans
5:9) which covers our sin (past,
present and future).
A few years ago, I attended the funeral of a Christian man who had committed suicide…He had been a
believer, [and had] touched many lives for Jesus…For nearly two hours, [many
people] testified of how this man had been used by God, [and] countless lives [had
been pointed] to…the Father's
love. I left the service convinced that
what had driven him to…suicide had been his…addiction to drugs, and the failure he felt as a [family man].
Although it was a…tragic ending…his
life testified…of Christ's redemptive power…I do not believe this man went to Hell…No
one can truly understand the depth of someone else's suffering…Only God knows
what is in a person's heart [and the extent of pain which might bring a person
to the point of suicide (Psalm
139:1-2)…
It bears repeating that suicide is a
terrible tragedy…It does not negate the Lord's act of redemption [because] our
salvation rests securely in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross… "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved." (Romans 10:13, NIV)[ii]
[i] The term “how get away with murder,” means to engage in a deplorable activity without incurring harm or punishment
(www.dictionary.com). There is also an ABC series
starring Viola Davis by
the same name.
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