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Suicide

"Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (Psalm 100:3). Since we are not our own, but God's, for a person to take his or her own life is to destroy His property. It is to make self sovereign rather than God.
Man is created in the image of the Creator; to dishonor or destroy our bodies is to dishonor Him. "What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19).
God is the giver of all life both for "here" and for "eternity" (Genesis 1:26, 27; Psalm 8:5; 24:1; John 1:3; 3:16; 10:10; 11:25, 26). It is He who sets the bounds, He who sets the span and nature of being, and he who has established the laws of life for here and for eternity (Job 7:1).
Neither love of life nor desire for death may be placed before (above) God; to do so is to give in to the god of self preeminence. Thus is the First Commandment violated: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me" (Exodus 20:3).
Consider, also, this: "Thou shalt not kill [murder]" (Exodus 20:13). Suicide is self-murder. Everyone who commits suicide violates God's Sixth Commandment "And surely your blood of your lives will I require [hold you responsible for], at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man" (Genesis 9:5). "All who put an end to their own lives...are murderers, whatever coroners' inquests may say of them." (Adam Clark). Matthew Henry comments, "Man must not take his own life...Our lives are not our own as that we may quit them at our own pleasure, but they are God's."
Christ, our Savior and our King, our Master and our example, was in all things tempted, even as are mortal men. "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as are we, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). There on the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem, did not Satan tempt Jesus, urging Him to commit suicide? "If you are the Son of God, cast Thyself down from hence" (Luke 4:9-11). And did not Christ rebuke him? "It is said, You shall not tempt [test] the Lord thy God" (Luke 4:12).
Suicide is not a problem of pathology. It is not a problem of the mind. It is a problem, a sickness, of the soul (Isaiah 1:5, 6) devoid of the saving, healing power of Jesus Christ. Sin is the source of suicidal inclinations. When the soul is without Christ, the mind is corrupted, hopeless, lost. Those without Christ are lost in more ways than one. "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 16:25).
It is the Savior who heals the broken heart and sets at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). There is a balm, a refuge, for the heavy heart and desperate soul. "Come, "Said Jesus, "Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28-30). In an uncaring world, it is Christ who hears, cares, heals, and saves. It is He who can transform a death-wish into a joyous song for life.
Christ is indeed the answer - yes, even for those bent on suicide. And, if we are His, it is our task to bring the wounded, the sick, the despairing, the desperate to Him for love, understanding, mercy, grace, and peace.
Consider the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 1:8-10). He was "pressed out of measure" and "despaired even of life." Yet, through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, he learned "in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content..., I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
Much of the preaching in many churches is a watered-down religion, devoid of the healing power of Jesus Christ. It is not sufficient unto the tasks and pressures of the times. As a result people lose hope and commit suicide, thinking they are going to "end it all." A religion that preaches self-centeredness rather than Christ-centeredness, that teaches self-satisfaction rather than self-denial, that teaches psychology rather than theology, is a false religion. Such a religion is based on the word of man rather than the Word of God. It is more in tune and in step with "pop" psychology than it is with the saving power and love and truth of the Triune God. It is, in fact, a pagan religion - the offspring of humanism. Devoid of the true gospel. It disregards God's Laws, and is easy pickings for the devil. It is an abomination before the sight of God.
In such a religion there is no healing, no power to transform, no power to reform, no power to save. No power to offer "a life of hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:3); no power to inspire, to repent and sustain reformation through the Holy Spirit.

Randall Runions, Pastor

317 Church Street

Po Box 161

Clifton, Tn 38425