What does the Bible say about suicide?

Question- What does the Bible say about suicide?

Answer- There are three incidents in the Bible that I can think of where suicide is mentioned. The first is the incident when King Saul in the Old Testament took his own life (I Samuel 31:4). The second incident is when Ahithopel, King David's personal advisor, hung himself after attempting to overthrow David and replacing him with his son Absalom (2 Samuel 17:23). And, of course, there is Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus, who hung himself because of the torment of his conscience for betraying Jesus(Matthew 27:5).

Notice that in all three incidents mentioned above, the Bible attempts to show that the men who committed suicide were in a state of lostness. Saul was rejected by God (1 Samuel 15:26). Ahithopel was a traitor and a type of the ultimate traitor, Judas, of whom Jesus said it that it would have been better for him if he had never been born. This is not to say that there might not be more noble reasons for a person to commit suicide (for example ,a person ending his or her life to spare themselves from brutal torture or to keep themselves from revealing information that might cause the death of thousands). The Bible does not address every possible situation but simply tells us that God, as the judge of all the earth, will do what is right.

Beyond this, the Bible does in fact condemn murder (Exodus 20:13) and there is no reason to believe that this does not apply to taking one's own life. The Bible says that "no murderer has eternal life abiding in Him." (I John 3:15) The reason why taking a human life is such a serious crime in God's eyes, as opposed to taking the lives of animals, is because man is created in the image of God and, therefore, has infinite value(James 3:9).

Remember that Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his own soul?" If you are considering suicide, remember that, according to Jesus, your soul is worth the entire world. This means that you are infinitely valuable to God as a human being. With Christ in your heart, you can have the hope not only of a changed life in the present (II Corinthians 5:17), but an eternal future in heaven as well (Revelation 21-22). Only in accepting Christ can one truly be saved from the powers of darkness. (Acts 4:12, Colossians 1:13) Remember, there is hope in Jesus Christ! (Colossians 1:27)