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.
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