What does the Bible teach about suicide?

The topic of suicide is often avoided in many churches due to its sensitive nature.  Sometimes people try to lump suicide into the same category as murder, by equating it with the commandment against murder – “You shall not murder.” (Deuteronomy 5:17 NIV)  However, there are no direct commandments against taking your own life.  Although, there are several passages that teach against taking such actions.

In the Bible, you will find two contrasting examples of people taking their own lives.  Obviously you have Judas Iscariot who killed himself for selfish reasons.  Then you had Samson who sacrificed his own life to help protect his people from enemies. 

Below you will find Matthew giving the account of Judas Iscariot killing himself, after the remorse overwhelmed him of realizing that he betrayed the innocent blood of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

“Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed.  So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.  When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.  ‘I have sinned,’ he said, ‘for I have betrayed innocent blood.’  ‘What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’  So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:1-5 NIV)

   

On the contrary, you have Samson who made a decision to take his own life…so he could help defeat the enemy for his people.

 “Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, ‘Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.’  When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, ‘Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain.’  While they were in high spirits, they shouted, ‘Bring out Samson to entertain us.’  So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them.  When they stood him among the pillars, Samson said to the servant who held his hand, ‘Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them.’  Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform.  Then Samson prayed to the Lord, ‘Sovereign Lord, remember me.  Please, God, strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’  Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood.  Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, Samson said, ‘Let me die with the Philistines!’ Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.” (Judges 16:23-30 NIV)

In no way are Samson’s sacrificial actions suggesting or insinuating that sick or older people in our society should practice euthanasia as a way to help better others.  Instead, Samson’s decision to save and protect others could be compared to people in our militaries…who serve and sometimes sacrifice their lives in wars to help save and protect people in our nations.  On the contrary, believers are to watch out and care for their sick and elderly family members, and if these people have no family members the church should step in to help them.

Overall, Scripture also teaches against the intentional taking of one’s own life, for self-centered reasons.  More importantly, the Bible teaches about the importance of preserving the sanctity of life.  As believers mature, they will understand the importance of accepting God’s will for their lives rather attempting to usurp the sovereign providence of God.

What does the Bible teach about abortion?

One of the most sensitive issues in society today is the discussion of abortion – or the needless taking of an unborn child’s life.  Many people believe abortion should fall into the same category as murder and no one should ever have an abortion, even if it involves saving the mother’s life.  On the other extreme, many groups try to legitimize all abortions by trying to say everything centers solely on the reproductive rights of the mother, while ignoring any of the potential atrocities affecting the child in the womb.  Then you have a broad spectrum of people – in the center position of the issue – who believe that Scripture teaches abortion is wrong, many of whom also believe abortion should only be permitted in cases of incest, rape or to grave danger to the mother’s life.

In the Old Testament, one of the Ten Commandments includes the following commandment – “Thou shalt not murder.” (Exodus 20:13 NIV)  On the contrary, other parts of Scripture only teach against the needless taking of an unborn life, rather than having any direct commandments against it.  For example, the next chapter of Exodus seems to indicate that a child born prematurely, as the result of the mother getting hit during a fight, is treated the same as a regular person with the below words.

 

“If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows.  But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (Exodus 21:22-25 NIV, italics added for emphasis)

  

However, to add to the confusion, various Bible versions often have varying translations of the words giving “birth prematurely.”  As a result, some people tend to have differing interpretations on the context of the words…whether they mean having stillbirth, a miscarriage resulting in the death of the unborn child, or an actual premature birth.  For example, the New Revised Standard Version uses the following words.

“When people who are fighting injure a pregnant woman so that there is a miscarriage, and yet no further harm follows, the one responsible shall be fined what the woman’s husband demands, paying as much as the judges determine.  If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21:22-25 NRSV, italics added for emphasis)

To make things more complicated, there were also various Old Testament laws concerning chastity that had punishments of death for any violators – which unfortunately had no provisions for saving the life of any unborn children who may have been conceived as a result of any of these prohibited sexual encounters.  In other words, many innocent children still in the womb of the mothers were often killed – not murdered – as a result of the sins of their parents.  Listed below are a few of the laws concerning marriage violations.

“If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,’ then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin...If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death.  She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house.  You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:13-15, 20-21, NIV)

“If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.  You must purge the evil from Israel.” (Deuteronomy 22:22, NIV)

“If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife.  You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:23-24, NIV)

In verses 25 through 27 of Deuteronomy chapter 22, Moses also included a law that any man who raped a woman was subject to the penalty of death.  Additionally, Moses dedicated most of Chapter 18 in the Book of Leviticus to laws teaching against incest with family members and the negative connotations associated with such behaviors.

On a positive note, there are several verses throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible that mention God knowing and consecrating people before they were even born.  In the Book of Luke, the angel Gabriel spoke to Zechariah and said their son John [the Baptist] would be filled with the Holy Spirit before he was born, evident by the baby leaping in Elizabeth’s womb.

“But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.  He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.  He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born…When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:13-15, 41 NIV)

Realistically, most people who have ever had children would never want to give them up, let alone imagine what their life would be like without them.  Unfortunately, many people make hard decisions everyday – and sometimes wrong decisions, that they often regret – regarding the future of children in the wombs of their respective mothers.  Overall, most reasons for present day abortions are wrong in so many ways.  Still, believers need to remember that abortion is not an unpardonable sin and they should have empathy for people who may have remorse for making such difficult decisions in the past.

In summary, Scripture does not have any direct commands against abortion.  However, it teaches about the importance of preserving the sanctity of life and the needless taking of another life, even the life of a child in a mother’s womb.  Scripture also teaches about the negative connotations associated with rape and incest.  Therefore, church leaders should empathetically teach against having abortions in most situations, while at the same time allowing individual believers to be led by the Lord in their decisions concerning abortions which may involve rape, incest and/or grave danger to the mother’s life…as well as encouraging adoptions as an alternative, when possible.