Guest Author - Jenna Robinson

This is anopther excerpt from Evangelical Outreach. They're motive is to use Biblical truth to reach the world. These particular comments are not the exact thoughts or feelings of this Editor or the Editors at Bella Online. You can read the comments made by this Editor at the bottom of this featured article.



"Suicide: A Quick Ticket To Hell


Suicide is commonly defined as the taking of one’s own life. Tens of thousands of people a year in the United States alone commit this act, according to a national statistic as of 1993 on suicide:
White men run the highest risk of suicide. In fact, they account for almost 75 percent of the 32,000 suicides a year in the United States.
A different source yielded a slightly lower figure for 1993, but also stated a steady increase in suicides, except for 1992:
1970 = 23,480 (male, 16,629; female, 6,851)
1980 = 26,869 (male, 20,505; female, 6,364)
1985 = 29,453 (male, 23,145; female, 6,308)
1990 = 30,906 (male, 24,724; female, 6,182)
1992 = 30,484 (male, 24,457; female, 6,027)
1993 = 31,102 (male, 25,007; female, 6,095)
Those statistics show that women are much less apt to commit suicide than men, for some unknown reason.
One must wonder how anyone could consider murdering himself. Perhaps one reason is that these people think they will escape their pain and no longer be aware of anything, just as if they had never been born. There have even been death pacts made resulting in several people successfully murdering themselves together. They didn't realize what they were doing and where they would be heading for eternity! Otherwise they would NOT have gone through with it.
Others who are religious may think they will escape the agony of their compounded problems by killing themselves and going to heaven. In their thinking, if such a person once believed and was trusting on Jesus but has been suffering from some sort of intense pain, is in a completely hopeless condition regarding that situation and no longer sees any purpose at all in his life, wouldn’t the desire to escape that and go to a paradise heaven through suicide seem appealing?
If A Christian Commits Suicide,
Does He Go To Heaven?
That’s another way of asking if a person who was once saved (a Christian) dies as an unrepentant, premeditated murderer, does he go to heaven?
Remember this, like abortion, suicide is just another name for murder. However, to be more exact, suicide is premeditated self-murder. But even beyond this, it is the kind of murder one cannot repent of! Unlike King David, who had another person murdered but was later forgiven, suicide victims cannot repent to find forgiveness.
The Reliable Source Of Truth
The only reliable source to find out the facts about life after death is the bible--God's word to mankind. Don’t be deceived by a false teacher, all unforgiven murderers, without exception, do not have eternal life and will end up in the lake of fire:

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1 Jn. 3:15, NKJV).

But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Rev. 21:8, NKJV).

No exception to the above is made anywhere in Scripture for a person who was once a Christian, then commits suicide because of a bad combination, that is, painful circumstances, hopelessness and a belief in eternal security (the belief that you can never go to hell once you become a Christian)!

Mental Illness
Some have tried to excuse the sin of suicide (premeditated self-murder) with the following rationale: “If one is mentally ill, he isn’t responsible for his actions.” To excuse any form of murder this way, including self-murder, is not Scriptural. There is absolutely no Biblical backing for such a statement! Besides, mental illness isn’t the root of sin, the heart of man is. Jesus tells us where murder proceeds from:
What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’ (Mk. 7:20-23, NIV).
Please note that murder (regardless the form) comes from the heart and is not a mental illness, according to the Lord!


Such people who yield to this temptation won’t be going to heaven, since they committed murder and couldn’t repent of it!
It is vitally important that suicide, like other satanic temptations, be steadfastly resisted. In other words, don’t even for a moment entertain suicidal thoughts. Anyone who yields to this satanic temptation of murder will only be intensifying their own pain and misery in eternity, not escaping it! People in hell at this moment because of suicide would do anything to have the chance you have to reverse their actions but can't. It's too late forever for them.
Lasting hope and peace can be found only in the Lord Jesus. If you were once saved, but have backslidden to the point where you are thinking about suicide, please repent!!"

If you like this excerpt from Evangelical Outreach that has been featured here at Bella Online Christianity then visit their website yourself and become one of the Lord's soldiers who are spreading His Word....

For more information about Evangelical Outreach... Go to Evangelical Outreach.org

UPDATE: 4/14/04

I have recieved many emails about this particular article. Below is one example of an email exchange with one reader Lauren Mitchell:

Lauren Mitchell wrote:
Mrs. Robinson,

I feel your article "Suicide: A Quick Ticket to Hell" was very offensive and lacked all that God stands for. It upset me and broke my heart to know that people contemplating suicide will read that article and all they will find is condemnation and judgement, all of which is not what God calls us to. We are called to love regardless the circumstance or the people we are surrounded by, we are called to not judge and leave that to God. Who are we to say if someone makes it to heaven or not...that is absolutely ridiculous!

First of all you left out a few Bible verses that would absolutely contradict your point....how about Romans 8:38, "neither life nor death will seperate us from the love of Christ".
Or how about the six suicides that are recorded in the Bible: Abimelech (Judges 9:50-54), Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23), Zimri (1 Kings 16:15-20), Samson (Judges 16:23-31), Saul (1 Samuel 31:1-6), and Judas (Matthew 27:5-7).

In Sauls case, he was rewarded with a war hero's burial and many theologians (including St. Augustine) have said that Samsons suicide was justified as an act of obedience to a direct command of God. Also, the Bible says in Matthew 12:31, that blasphemy in the Holy Spirit is the only unpardonable sin and suicide is definitely not blasphemy. Another point you had was that you can't repent of suicide and so that means you will automatically go to hell.

Honestly, we all die with unrepentant sins, you cannot honestly say that you realize ever time you sin and you repent and what happens if you are committing adultery or even just lying and you die right at that moment, does that mean you go to hell? In no means does it and I would never classify God into such a tight box. He is a God of love and mercy and we have no right to say that we know how He will judge or who goes to hell or not. I just felt like I needed to write you to let you know that your article gives a wrong impression of Christianity and God, we are called to love not judge, so how about we start spreading the love and stop with the condemnation.

In Him,
Lauren Mitchell

From: Jennifer Robinson To: Lauren Mitchell
Subject: Re: Attn: Jenna Robinson Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2004 22:17:25 -0700 (PDT)

Dear Ms. Mitchell,

Thank you for writing. This article was part of a featured bit by Evangelical Outreach. I, too, felt that it was a bit sensational. My purpose for featuring it was for those who might be contemplating suicide or abortion and may have needed a hard line to lead them into the loving arms of our Lord Jesus Christ and make the decision to live.

I can certainly appreciate your observations about the content. I have been considering for some time adding some reader feedback onto the end of the article on suicide. I was wondering if I could use your very eloquently written email as part of that.

As for myself personally, I am torn. I think that if a Christian were to contemplate killing themselves, a good reminder of the gift of life given to them by God would do some good. After all, God gave us life and only God should have the authority to take it. But then we're treading ever so slightly into the realm of living wills and life support and such.... I think our lives are always in God's hands - that He is always involved and has His hand in all our circunstances even our mistakes - and that what happens to us daily is somehow orchestrated by Him in His divine plan. So, I like to steer clear of these subjects in Bella because I feel that these situations are very personal between us and the Lord in the moment.

I do feel that God does not want us to mourn so much and suffer so much that we contemplate taking our own lives. He offers us so much love and peace and acceptance that I can't imagine anyone ever feeling so forlorn that they want to end it. I have felt that way before and He reached out and snatched me from the fire. For this reason I included some things that seem so sensational and so outrageous to the casual looker. But if someone was browsing through Bella and found this article and they were contemplating suicide, I think one of two things would happen: Either they would change their minds or they would be so mad and so upset that they would feel compelled to write to me and talk to someone about what I have featured that they would put off their attempted suicide for one more day. In any case it opens the door for God to do His work and that is always a good thing. I really appreciate you and your feedback. It's refreshing to be put in my place so kindly and so succinctly. Thank you!! :) Sincerely, Jenna Robinson+

Jenna Robinson:

Sorry it took me so long in responding, I was home with my family for Easter! I hope you had a great Easter with your family as well. Anyways, you are more then welcome to use my e-mail on your website, I do have to make one correction though, I said Romans 8:32, when I meant Romans 8:38...sorry about that!

I have one more thing to add, sorry if it seemed a little harsh and extreme but I myself have struggled with depression and suicide, even at a young age, which scares me the most because then the logic is even more so gone. I was half a second from slitting my wrists in seventh grade (after I was saved), and I knew how to do it properly to make it end my life, I had done research, it wasn't a split second decision, but then right as the knife was placed on my wrist my mom walked in. The Lord saved me that day but it scares me to think that there are youth out there that age and younger who are going through similar things and struggling with the hopelessness in their life, even if they are saved. Because honestly, I believed, I just thought it would be better for my friends, my family and the entire world if I was no longer a part of it, I would no longer be that burden for everyone. Obviously, looking back now, those were all lies that the devil was feeding to my head and eventually entered into my soul and the core of my being.

It is crazy to know that the things I was struggling with then aren't nearly as hard as the things I have been recently going through, but back then it just seemed impossible. Fortunately I can say that because of God's grace I would never contemplate suicide again, but I know people who do, I know Christians who have and families who have to deal with people telling them there was no way their son or daughter is in heaven, and I just can't comprehend what makes people tell families going through that pain things like that.

So I apologize for any harshness, I just wanted to let you know why I got so fired up and why I feel the way I do. Just know that yes, God does not desire us to end our lives but in reality there are people who are going through pain and hurt and depression and the devil is getting them where they are vulnerable. They are no longer at the mindset where they logically think of what God has planned for them or that there is a better plan. But they are thinking, in their eyes, "selflessly" they think it will be in the best interest of those they love and for themselves. I know I have been there!! That's all I had to say, thank you for your timely response and your openness to my feelings and views, that is a great thing to see within the body of Christ! Keep the faith strong!!!


Shinin' with His Light,

Lauren Mitchell

Romans 14:8