An "Ask the Preacher" article as it has appeared in the Santa Rosa Press Gazette (Milton, Florida). The author is Pastor Carl Gallups of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Milton, Florida. Click HERE to go to the Main Index page of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church to read many more such articles. This article is copyrighted by Carl Gallups and may be reproduced provided that copyright notice is given.



Dear Pastor Gallups, " If a person commits suicide, can they still go to heaven?" L.L. Pace

Dear L.L., I know that this is a very sensitive subject. There is hardly a pain greater to family members than to lose a loved one by suicide.

First let me say that NO ONE goes to heaven apart from being born-again through Jesus Christ. (Read the third chapter of the Gospel of John.) This is true regardless of whether they have died by suicide or any other means.

Let me say that there are several different strongly held opinions on this matter. I can only tell you this. There are only a couple of examples of suicide in the Bible. One in the Old Testament (King Saul - and his sword bearer) and one in the New Testament (Judas the betrayer of Jesus).

Notice this, in both of these instances they were men who "claimed" to be followers of God. Yet, King Saul turned to a witch for help rather than the Lord and eventually took his own life. Judas claimed to be one of Jesus' right hand men, but then betrayed him and in despondency committed suicide. In both cases, the Biblical implications are that neither of these men entered heaven. Now…was it simply because they committed suicide or was it that they committed suicide as one of the results of not having a "real" relationship with the Lord?

I also know that in several places the Bible is clear that no murderer will enter heaven. Of course a forgiven, repentant and born-again murderer can be saved. But, a person who has just committed suicide has just committed a pre-meditated murder for which he never asked forgiveness after the fact. He took a life (his own) that was not his to take.

It is my opinion that suicide is NEVER the acceptable solution to a true believer's problems. It is the ultimate act of faithlessness. It says to God, "You are not big enough to handle my problems, I will take my eternity into my own hands."

L.L., There is then, no absolute guarantee that I could ever give, that a person who has committed suicide has gone to be with Jesus in heaven. I know that God's grace and mercy is unfathomable to human reason, but I would be very hesitant to presume upon that grace and mercy.