The Fountain of Life Church: SUICIDE

If it’s not about Jesus, it’s not about anything

(Motto of the Fountain of Life)

Editor's Note:Please Read the Following Prayerfully and in view of God's Grace

SPS: Our purpose today is to review the logic of grace. We focus grace onto suicide and ask the question, does grace really forgive all sin, or just some sin?

ANCHOR

At this point some anchor points about the use and abuse of grace must be established. Christians misuse grace and sin; 1 John 1:8: “If we say that we have no sin, we lie.” But through the blood of Christ (grace) they are free of sin; 1 John 3:9: “Whoever is born of God does not commit sin.”

Our anchor is recognizing that there exists a profound difference between misusing grace and abusing grace. The misuse of grace involves yielding to carnal weakness through temptation. The abuse of grace involves a willful carnal attitude of the heart. The abuse of grace is not consistent with the logic of grace. The abuse of grace is akin to willful denial or rejection of grace which the devils, who also believe, have done. Grace does not condone sin. Grace forgives sin. Misusing grace is sinning through temptation and repenting of it. Abuse of grace is sinning willfully then demanding forgiveness because of grace.

Brethren, rest assured, God is not manipulated by his own words of grace into saving those who abuse or reject grace. The Child of God cannot abuse grace and still be a Child of God. This piece concerns itself with Children of God misusing grace.

A TRAGIC PHONE CALL

Last month my cousin called with the sad news that her 45 years old son had died. She said that (we will call him Bob) Bob had committed suicide a few hours earlier. Then she asked me if Bob were in hell. Bob believed in Jesus. But, my cousin asked, was that enough to keep him out of hell? She was on the phone hoping beyond hope for consolation. For years now grace has been a foremost teaching in all of my sermons. Relying upon grace as the foundation of a response I comforted her as best I could. The remainder of this message consists of my conversation with her and my later thoughts as I pondered that phone call.

A common Christian belief in various forms is that suicide is unpardonable because there is no possibility for repentance. We interpret scripture based upon our human perception of time, therefore logically hell is the only option. But is this true from God’s perspective of timelessness and the logic of grace?

During the early years of Christianity, many believers chose suicide over religious persecution. For example, Eusebuis in his work, The History of The Church, reports that at Antioch Christians were tortured. “Many, to escape such trials, threw themselves down from the roofs of tall houses before they were caught, regarding death as a prize snatched from the wicked.” John Chrysostom names three of them, Domnina and her daughters Bernice and Prosdoce, who threw themselves into a river rather than be at the mercy of the soldiers. Eusebius calls Domnina saintly, possessing an admirable soul.

In the 4^th Century Saint Augustine was among the first to speak out against suicide. Some sources report that he was prompted to do so because of the large number of Christian suicides, presumably to escape torture. Thomas Aquinas, teaching in the 13^th century, denounced suicide as a sin for which there was no repentance.

Early Christian generations reasoned that suicide was honorable, later generations declared it sin. Which view is correct? Bob was not escaping religious persecution. Does he even fit into this discussion, or is he really in hell?

THE LOGIC OF GRACE

At this time brethren let’s turn to the words of Jesus which you already know. Words which point to a reality and certainty that transcends every event that may happen in our earthly existence.

The night before he suffered he said, in John 17:20, “Neither do I pray for these 12 alone, but for them also which believe on me through their words (21) that they all may be one, as thou, Father are in me, and I in three; that they may also be one in us. (22) And the glory which you gave me, I have given to them. (23): I in them and you in me…that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them, even as you have loved me.”

This prayer was for the 12 apostles, then and there 2000 years ago, but notice here by Jesus very own words, the prayer included everyone who hears [or reads] their words; that is you, me, Bob. That brings tremendous hope and joy. Let us not gloss over this scripture. It is proper and correct for us here to emphasize that you are included in this prayer. Let us redact it without changing it’s meaning in any way by including Bob’s name.

Beloved, wherever you hear his name, substitute your name and make this prayer as personal as Jesus made it. Let His words speak directly to you, what’s your name? And we see that your secure tomorrow brings to us tremendous comfort in any hour of sorrow.

Here are the very words of Jesus, the Savior, the King; our very God. The night before He suffered He said, “Neither do I pray for theses 12 alone, but also for Bob, who believed on me through their words. That they all may be one, as thou Father are in me, and I in thee, that Bob may also be one in us. And the love which you gave me, I have given to Bob. I in him and you in me…that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved Bob, even as you have loved Me.”

Brethren, these are not hollow words. These verses in John struck me in their inclusive depth and power showing that the Father loves you, me, Bob just as much as He loved Jesus Himself. The verses hit me hard and filled me with joy in the face of sorrow. The assurance of salvation is that the Holy Spirit dwells with “Everyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God.” This promise has important meaning and Bob believed it.

Whenever anyone confesses Jesus as Son; that changes the understanding of salvation into the reality of salvation. This confession is belief and submission. And it involves a change of heart. Belief with unwilling submission or no submission is not a change of heart at all and this type of belief mocks God. Paul tells us with certainty in Galatians 6:7 that God is not mocked. James tells us in chapter 2:19 that the devils also believe and tremble. They believe, they unwillingly acknowledge His sovereignty, but their hearts have no love of God in them, their hearts are in willing rebellion to his rule.

When a heart is willingly given then that confession of Jesus as the Son of God means something that Christianity does not adequately teach. That is that Jesus judges the willing heart, not the work, be it a good work or an evil one. Is that just a bold statement, too good to be true? But, if true, it is really good news, don’t you think so?

The groundwork of all our eternal joy is that all sins were forgiven at the Cross and we are saved by grace and not saved by works [Ephesians 2:8]. To say it another way is that we are not condemned by sins. That concept is not well taught in Churches today. But grace extends even further. While we were still sinners Christ died for us [Romans 5:8].

Who are the “us” in this scripture? “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but the sins of the whole world” [1 John 2:2]. The “us” is the whole world, not a part of the world, not a worthy part of the world, but the whole world. These verses say that grace is for everybody for all time.

Did Jesus really suffer and die for everyone in the whole world from the beginning of time to the end of days? Yes. “Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life” [Romans 5:18:].

This means an incredible thing which we don’t often consider. Through His blood He has even forgiven the sins of all whose hearts willing reject or deny Him. Grace is not limited or conditional. Grace is for all. All men means all, not some, not many, but all.

Understanding this about grace does a remarkable thing as it places the emphasis of salvation upon grace NOT on morality, good works or sin but upon grace. Through the Holy Spirit grace enters into and convicts our hearts to confess Jesus. Again, more strongly, this means that Jesus judges the heart, not the work. The logic of grace shows us that there is no sin that keeps anybody out of heaven. Just as importantly it demonstrates that there is no moral code that gets anybody into heaven. Jesus has forgiven the sins of all who lived and died before His birth. He has already forgiven the sins of all who have not yet been born. The logic of grace indicates that whatever time a sin is committed is not the issue.

The great issue is the heart in submission to Christ. Because we are all sinners [1 John 1:8], all the time that means that even to the hour of our own death, we are still sinners. God judges the heart, our confession; it matters not if our last earthly act was building a great hospital to save thousands or if our last act was any sin. To state it more forcefully, salvation does not hinge upon any last act, it hinges upon our heart confessing Jesus.

The Church is 100% filled with sinners. And tomorrow the Church, will be 100% filled with sinners. Hell is 100% filled with sinners. Heaven is 100% filled with sinners. The only difference is the heart; the confession of Jesus. Hell is filled with those who believe that Jesus is God [James 2:19]. But they don’t confess/submit to Jesus. Their hearts reject grace eternally. Heaven is filled with those who believe and confess that Jesus is God. Their hearts reflect God’s own heart [Acts 13:22].

Do we positively know of anyone in hell? No. Judas, Hitler? We don’t know their hearts. We may guess but we don’t know. Do we know anyone in heaven? Yes. King David is a man after God’s own heart, an adulterer, liar, polygamist and murderer who is saved for heaven; St. Paul is a chosen vessel of God, filled with the Holy Spirit, and a murder who is saved for heaven. Hebrews chapter 11 lists heroes of the faith who by definition are saved. Noah is a drunkard, Abraham is twice a liar, Sarah is an unbeliever (birth of Isaac), Jacob is a liar and thief, Moses is a murder and unbeliever (the late circumcision of Gershom and the waters of Meribah Kadesh). Why not Bob?

Any sin merits hell. James writing to a converted Christian church says in 2:9-10 that respecting persons in the congregation is sin and if we are guilty of one sin we are guilty of the whole law. That means that cheating on a 5^th grade math test has the same eternal consequence as eating an apple in Eden, or premeditated murder, or by extension, suicide.

JUDAS WAS ONE OF THE TWELVE

Here are two questions. 1) Is betrayal the unpardonable sin? 2) Was Judas’ betrayal a worse sin than Peter’s betrayal? They both believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the anointed of God. It is well to point out here a fact that is often overlooked when reading John 17:21-23. Judas was there and was included in the prayer.

Let us redact Jesus’ prayer for shocking effect and ask if the redaction changes the truth of the passage. I am sure that hearing these words for the first time will be shocking to our human concept of justice. But is the redaction true or untrue? Here are the very words of Jesus, the Savior, the King; our very God. The night before He suffered He said, “Neither do I pray for theses 11 alone, but also for Judas, who believed on me through My words. That they all may be one, as thou Father are in me, and I in thee, that Judas may also be one in us. And the love which you gave me, I have given to Judas. I in him and you in me…that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved Judas, even as you have loved Me.”

The logic of grace does not teach that Judas is in heaven or in hell. The logic of grace holds that no act gets us into heaven or keeps us out. Our own confession of Jesus is the important thing; it is the only thing. It is that confession which we make in our hearts and it is that confession which saves us through grace. All else is meaningless.

Brethren, it is true that Jesus is always with and in us, and we are always with and in Him. And it is true that this is cause for joy. Nevertheless, Jesus knows our human state and our emotions. He does not expect nor want us to be happy when we suffer. Joyful yes, happy no. There is a difference. In His care for us He says blessed are those who mourn [Matthew 5:4]. He says so well in Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. There is a time to mourn.” There is a God ordained season for mourning. Bob is not excluded from this.

With that in mind, I’ll try to close this sermon on a hopeful note of encouragement; of joy for you all. I have noticed that God does not often remove the cause of the pain, rather He provides the strength to endure it. The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance shows over 20 verses to endure in the New Testament alone. That is not so surprising. Jesus Himself was not spared the agony of the cross. He fully knew what would happen to Him. On the night before He suffered the cross, Jesus said something that my human mind cannot comprehend. He said, “My joy I give you.” He did not confuse this with happiness. James, the brother of Jesus, advised us, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” [James 1:2].

Divers temptations certainly include grief, suffering and pain, but always tempered with His unsearchable joy. Through Baptism we become a part of His body. Through His vicarious humanity His joy is our joy yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) even in times of bereavement. And it is His joy which is the foundation, the guaranty of eternal happiness through grace given to all, which awaits us in heaven.

And for Bob? Is suicide the unpardonable sin? His last act occurred in human time. The comfort which I offered to my cousin was that the logic of grace indicates that his last act did not seal his eternity. The joy for my cousin is that Jesus never stops loving Bob and he is still one with Jesus, unless he chooses not to be.

The confession of his heart for Jesus in finite time indicates that at his judgement (Hebrews 9:27) where he meets Jesus, who knows every heart, at the threshold of infinite time, there is still hope for his eternity.

Benediction:The grace of God our Father and of Jesus our Lord be with you and your families.