Suicide is a final and tragic sin that a person commits against himself and God. What does the bible say about it?
One of the ten commandments is “Thou shalt not murder”. Suicide is murder of yourself. No one is to stop their own life. God decides when we are going to be born, he is the giver of life and he numbers our days. God want us to live and have joy in him. However, there are times when a person becomes incredibly overwhelmed by despair. We live in a world that is full of sin and death which causes great pain.
There are seven different people in the Bible that took their own life. Some are well known, others are not. There are also 5 or 6 people in the Bible who were said to despair to the point of death but did not take their own life, one of those being Jesus. Solomon said, “I hated life”. Jonah said, “it is better for me to die than to live”. Paul said he was burdened beyond his strength and despaired of life itself. The difference between these people and the biblical people who executed themselves seems to have been their relationship with God. They were not abiding with God. Despairing in life to the point of death is not sin. Jesus felt this way. At that time, he told his friends how he was feeling, he prayed and he sought God for comfort.
I Corinthians 10:13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
The struggle may be great and that is the time when it is absolutely necessary to seek the community of other Christians and to remember that God is faithful and his grace is sufficient for us.
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- List the verses from the video of the people who despaired deeply in their lives. Can you relate? Explain.
- God’s means of grace are (1) the Word of God, (2) the Spirit of God, and (3) the people of God. How is this trifecta important for those struggling with despair?
- Read II Corinthians 1:3-11 How is God described in verses 3 and 4? List some of the results of suffering that Paul mentions in this section of scripture.
- Read I Corinthians 10:13 What characteristic of God is mentioned in this verse? How might this help in a time of suffering?
- What are some things that you could do now to deepen your relationship with God and with other believers that might help in a time when you are experiencing difficulty?
- What would you say to someone struggling with deep despair? How would you try to help them?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
