One evening while I was leading bible study, a new Christian asked, “Does the Bible teach that suicide is an unpardonable sin?” She grew up in the Catholic Church where her priest taught that suicide was an act against God and a sin for which one could not repent. If one could not repent, then God wouldn’t pardon him. So, suicide became the “unpardonable sin,” which meant to her that someone could lose their salvation.
As the group unpacked the question, I realized they had received mixed messages and needed a clear, biblical response. Let me clarify for you here what the Bible teaches about suicide and the “unpardonable sin” so your mind can rest. It’s complicated, but stay with me.
Suicide is a sin, but it is not the “unpardonable sin.” The Sixth Commandment states “You shall not murder.” Suicide is the murder of self. Since God created us in His image and His word teaches the sanctity of life, it is never our prerogative to take someone else’s life or our own. Moreover, the Christian stance is that God is the author of life. He doesn’t just create us, but He also pre-ordains the number of days He will grant to us before we’re born. Here are three Scripture passages that support that God controls how long we live:
Deut 32:39 – “See now that I am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.
Ps 139:15-16 – “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me was written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Job 14:5 – “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”
Therefore, when a person commits suicide, two sins are committed. One not only sins by murdering himself, but also opposes God’s will by rejecting the number of days God ordained for him.
So what is the “unpardonable sin” and where does it stem from? The Bible passage most often cited is Matthew 12:31-32. Jesus confronts the Pharisees: “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” When we read this, it’s hard not to feel unsettled. We wonder if we have somehow committed the sin of “speaking against the Holy Spirit.” But we need to understand the context of this passage.
From a historic perspective, the Pharisees hated Christ. They suggested that His miracles were from Beelzebub, the prince of demons! By claiming that Jesus’s miracles were of the devil, they were blaspheming the Holy Spirit’s testimony that Jesus was the Son of God. Moreover, they didn’t care about Christ’s ability to forgive their sins. They continuously rejected Jesus.
There is only one “unpardonable sin” that can separate us from God for eternity. It is the ongoing, willful refusal to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the forgiveness He offers.
As you can see, connecting suicide with the “unpardonable sin” is not biblically sound. So can someone lose their salvation for committing suicide? The Bible tells us that God forgives the believer’s sins at the moment of salvation (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 says, ” For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” So, we are saved by God’s grace, not by our own good deeds. In the same way that our good works don’t save us, our bad ones, or sins, cannot keep us from salvation.
Paul made it plain in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing can separate us from God’s love: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
For some of you, suicide has hit too close to home. You’ve lost a loved one or a close friend and are still trying to process it. There is no question that suicide is tragic, but it does not negate the Lord’s act of redemption. Our salvation rests securely in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. So then, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13)
Does this post make it clear to you that suicide is not the “unpardonable sin?” Do you have any further questions on the matter? Let me know how I can assist you. Click the link below to share your questions, thoughts, or comments.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Thank you Lee Ann for addressing this subject! With all of the teenagers confused these days that go through with suicide, your explanation relieved me! These days seem to become more disturbing by the day along with the future of this next generation. I can understand how overwhelming life and it’s responsibilities can become as a very young person learning the truth of life.
Thanks for your thoughts, Debbie. I share the same concern. The statistics show that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young people between the ages of something like 16-24. We live in a difficult world, and aren’t we thankful that the good Lord leads us through it!!
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Thank you for writing about this subject. Many need this comfort.
Dear anonymous, may the Lord bless you and keep you. I appreciate your taking the time to offer your feedback.
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Great insight, Lee Ann! This seems to be a topic lots of people are discussing these days! We know of a family who has been dealing with this issue! Thanks for covering it so well. This post will give lots of people hope!
Thank you so much, Laurie! The subject of suicide is getting more press because it is on the rise. I certainly appreciate your feedback on this post!
Love,
Lee Ann
This provides a clear path for understanding a difficult question. Sometimes I have wondered if God could have played a role in suicide in order to teach others more lessons in life…. especially considering that our days have been predetermined by God. When I think of the influence of drugs over the mind the issues get a bit more tangled. Thank you Lee Ann for the logical reference!
Thank you, Vera. You raise an interesting thought about whether God plays a role in suicide. I don’t think He does because He won’t participate in breaking His own law to not murder. I do believe there is too much to know about God that we will never be able to understand here on earth. There is room for mystery! I, too, have asked a similar question trying to reconcile my Dad’s request for me to pray that the Lord would take him home sooner, yet his days have already been preordained. So if I pray in agreement with my Dad, and then he dies, did he die an “earlier death” as a gift from God, or was that the preordained date of death? If I had to lean one way or the other, I would say based on my understanding of Scripture that in His sovereignty, He doesn’t allow us to thwart His purposes, which also means we cannot “exceed the days He’s set before us.” Thus, I would have assumed in my hypothetical that Dad had died on his preordained day.
I chose not to talk about the influence of drugs and the fact that most suicides flow out of mental illness. My goal today was to make sure that people’s minds could rest that regardless of whether suicide is a mental illness, or induced by drugs taken, or whatever, if they have professed their faith in Christ, they will not lose their salvation. And an act of murder is not an “unpardonable sin.”
Blessings,
Lee Ann
Thank you Lee Ann, I do appreciate this discussion. My ex-husband’s grandma “committed suicide” many years ago…she had cancer and couldn’t bring herself to face surgery or other horrible treatments so she decided to starve herself to death. She was a wonderful Christian woman and I remember her asking me if I thought she would be forgiven for it. I told her that I felt that yes, God would forgive her, but I was never sure about it. Your clarification gives me comfort.
Hi, Peggy:
I am so glad to hear that this post gave you the clarification you needed and the comfort that you listened to the Spirit accurately while giving your family member an answer they were searching for.
Blessings and Hugs,
Lee Ann
Thank you Lee Ann for an excellent post on suicide. You may remember my son committed suicide in 1999. I have been deeply hurt by comments about the “unpardonable sin”. I never accepted that and your writing confirms my belief that there is only one “unpardonable sin”. That against the Holy Spirit.
Dear Larry:
Thank you for taking the time to comment on this. Family members like you who are left behind struggle enough with the pain of the loss and many unanswered questions that accompany your pain. I am so glad that you rejected the notion that suicide was the “unpardonable sin!” May the Lord continue to heal your heart.
Blessings and Hugs,
Lee Ann