If you would, turn to Romans chapter 8.
Romans chapter 8.
So this morning, the tip's going to be,
I'm going to address the question of suicide.
I've noticed out lately, it's come up a lot,
whether it's come up when, as a soul winner,
you use that to try to explain eternal security.
But it comes up, and a lot of people
have a lot of questions about it,
and they have a lot of wrong thoughts on their head about it.
So us, as soul winners, we're supposed to have an answer.
1 Peter 3.15 says, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you,
with meekness and fear.
So we should have an answer.
We should be able to explain it.
The word suicide is not in the King James Bible.
So a lot of people want to show me,
take me to a verse that says, suicide won't send me to hell.
But even though it's not in there,
the teaching is clearly in there.
And when someone will just ask me randomly outside of me
giving the gospel, usually I'll take them a few verses just
to kind of show them what the Bible says about it.
But if you're giving the gospel, and especially you're
using that, be prepared to be able to explain it.
That you actually did not just say, well, yeah,
the Bible says this, but actually be able to show them
out of the Bible why someone who commits suicide
does not go to hell.
There's people that struggle with it.
What they really struggle with is eternal security.
And that's why we use it.
Because if someone understands that,
usually they get eternal security.
But the Catholic church, Catholic type movies
have done a really good job of teaching people
about like purgatory.
They think that, well, these people got to pray me out.
Or they think that's the one sin that you can't do.
The unforgivable sin that you can't do.
And we don't want to make it sound like it's a good thing
that, okay, even if you kill yourself,
because we're gonna talk about it later,
it's not a good thing.
But in Romans 8, it's the first place
I will usually take someone.
So obviously there's many places you can take people,
but these are, I'm gonna give you three that I take people
to try and show them why someone who commits suicide
will not go to hell.
Romans 8, 38, Romans 8, 38 says for,
I persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So right in this verse, it's very clear.
It says that neither death.
And then some people will tell me,
well, that's if you just die, like you die in an accident.
But that's not what it says.
It says death.
Any type of death, if you're saved,
does not separate you from Christ.
And look what it says next.
It says nor life, which also says,
no matter how you live your life,
you're not gonna be separated from Christ.
And if you look in verse 39, look at it says,
it says, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature
will that person who kills themselves, they're a creature.
They're doing it.
What you're saying is that you have the power
to remove your eternal life.
So this verse to me clearly explains it,
but if it's not enough, go to John chapter 10.
John chapter 10, verse 28, this is the second verse.
And this is Jesus explaining.
There's so much here that disproves
that you lose your salvation and let alone,
suicide would fall right into this.
Look at this, John 10, 28, John 10, 28.
Jesus is speaking.
He says, I give unto them eternal life.
And of course, we know that's a life that lasts forever,
but you need to be able to explain that.
And they, look, they shall never perish.
Oh, unless you commit suicide.
No, never perish.
Neither shall any man, that's you,
anyone else that would take their life,
any man pluck them out of my hand.
Jesus says, you're in my hand.
But look at verse 29, it says,
my father, which gave me them, look, is greater than all.
And look, no man, again, is able to pluck them now,
look, out of my father's hand.
So we're in Christ when we're saved.
And then the father's got his hand around us.
How are you ever gonna lose your salvation?
It's crystal clear.
Okay, well, say this isn't enough.
Okay, well, there is a story in the Bible.
Go to 1 Samuel chapter 31.
And this one, I kind of saved
because it's a little lengthy
and you got to develop it a little more.
If someone say they're really just struggling
with this point, say they say,
well, I know if I kill someone, I'm forgiven,
but if they're just struggling with the suicide aspect,
this story, and I'm gonna read a little bit of it.
I probably would not read all this at the door
or to somebody, but 1 Samuel 31, we have King Saul.
Of course, it's the famous story about his life ends.
1 Samuel 31, verse one,
says, now the Philistines fought against Israel
and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines
fell down slain in Mount Gilboa.
The Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons.
The Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab
and Milkeshua, Saul's sons,
and the battle went sore against Saul
and the archers hit him and he was sore,
wounded of the archers.
Look at verse four.
Then Saul said unto his armor bearer,
draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith,
lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through
and abuse me, but his armor bearer would not,
for he was sore afraid.
Therefore, Saul took a sword,
look at it, don't miss it, and fell upon it.
The Saul here commits suicide.
He falls on his own sword.
And then someone that might know a little bit
about the Bible, they'll say,
well, yeah, it's clear then Saul wasn't saved
because a saved person would not do that.
Well, if they persist with that,
go to 1 Samuel 28, verse 19.
We'll go before, the day before this actually happens.
1 Samuel 28, 19.
And this is Saul going to a witch, a medium,
to talk to Samuel.
1 Samuel 28, 19 says, moreover,
the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee
into the hands of the Philistines, and look at this,
and tomorrow, shall thou and thy sons be with me.
The Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel
into the hand of the Philistines.
So this verse clearly shows that Saul went to heaven
because we know Samuel was in heaven
because Samuel was a righteous guy.
He believed the Lord.
He trusted on the Lord.
So Saul went to be with Samuel.
So the Bible's teaching it's clear
that if you take your own life,
and we showed example in Romans, that it's neither death.
Number two showed in John that it's eternal life.
You'll never perish.
You'll never be taken out of God's hand.
And then number three, if you need to show them example,
this is one time I know of someone has taken their life,
and they went to be with someone else
that we know is in heaven.
So just some notes as I close.
Just be tactful how you use this.
Don't use like weird examples,
especially with eternal security.
Like don't say, yeah, I could come back
and like kill your whole family, and I still go to heaven.
I mean, you know, you're like, whoa.
I mean, you know, you freak people out when you do that.
I mean, you just wanna get the point across
that they, you cannot take, you know, you cannot take.
You don't have the ability.
You weren't good enough to earn your salvation
or do anything for it.
You can't do anything that bad where it's taken away, right?
So just get that point across to them.
And then that, you know, suicide's not a good thing.
And then don't leave them with the fact
that we think that Christians are going around
just like willingly just killing themselves.
I mean, because, you know, we're bought with a price
and therefore we should glorify God
and our body and our spirit, which are God's.
And, you know, just leave that with them
as you talk about this subject,
but definitely show them verses
and get it out of their head
that they have the ability to take this eternal life,
which Jesus has freely given.
Let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, Father, thank you again for this time.
And I pray you be with us as we go out, Lord,
help us to preach your words in Jesus' name.
Amen.