Bible Question:

I was reading a question and answer pertaining to suicide. The question was, “If a person commits suicide will he/she go to heaven? ”. The response was, “Yes, if he/she is a child of God who received salvation, but a sinner will go to hell. ” One biblical reason given was that God forgives all sins except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which is true. But my question or statement is this. The Word of God says in 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we are dead, where is the opportunity to confess our sin in heaven? That is not possible in heaven since no unrighteousness belongs in heaven. If that were the case, a lot of Christians would be committing suicide so they can go home with Jesus as soon as possible. The example you had with Judas committing suicide is a good example showing suicide. The Bible says, “Cast all your cares on Me because I care for you. ” (1 Peter 5:17) and “Take no thought for your life , what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink: nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. ” (Matt. 6:25) When someone commits suicide, they have broken these commandments of God by filling their mind with cares of the world. The answer that you gave was really bothering me, so I am asking if you can explain that again in another way to me and respond to the reasons that I shared with you.

Bible Answer:

When a person believes in Jesus Christ, all his/her sins are forgiven – all of them! Several passages from the book of Acts make this clear.

Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. (NASB) Acts 10:43

Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you . . . (NASB) Acts 13:38

Both passages tell us that the forgiveness of our sins occurs as a result of believing in Jesus Christ. But which sins are forgiven? That is your question. The answer starts to evolve with our next passage which was written to Christians who are called “little children.”

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. (NASB) 1 John 2:12

Here we are told that Christians are “forgiven.” Our English Bibles do not give us the full sense of the Greek word that is translated as simply “forgiven.” The Greek for “forgiven” is a perfect participle. The perfect participle refers to something that has occurred in the past and is continuing into the present. This means that all of the past and present sins of Christians have been forgiven – period. They will never be remembered again. Christians are forgiven not because they are actively confessing their sins each day but because God has declared us to be perfect the moment we truly believed.

Seated In Heaven Already

If you are a Christian, did you know that God has declared you to be absolutely perfect even though you still sin? God treats you as if you were perfect even though you are still a sinner. Look at the following passage where we are told that God has made us alive and seated us up in heaven.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (NASB) Ephesians 2:4-6

Notice that we were once dead, but now we are alive. Before we believed we were not in heaven; but now we are sitting with Jesus in heaven spiritually even though we are physically here on earth. God is telling us in this passage that after we believe in Jesus Christ, He considers us to be saints and already citizens of heaven. We are seated already in heaven. We are spiritually alive! He ignores our present condition and considers us to already be positionally in heaven. We call this our position versus our practice. Our practice is sinful, but yet God has positioned us in heaven for all eternity. We are already there!

Future Sins Forgiven

How does God treat our future sins? According to Romans 8:1, God does not count our sins against us after we believe in Jesus Christ. We will never be condemned in the future. We were condemned before we believed in Jesus, but not after we believe.

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (NASB) Rom. 8:1

This is a strong statement in the Greek language. It says that once we believe in Jesus, we will never come under judgment. It is not possible for the believer to go to hell. Yet, scripture tells us that God is aware when His followers sin (Hebrews 12:4-13). However, God does not condemn His followers to hell. They are going to heaven. When a Christian sins, God will discipline him or her until he or she stops sinning. He wants them to be holy. He wants them to act as they are – seated in heaven.

In John 7:28 we read this,

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. (NASB) John 6:37

. . . all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. (NASB) John 6:39

Here Jesus tells us that everyone who truly believes in Him will be raised up on the last day, or go to heaven. He will not lose anyone, and He will not cast out anyone who has believed in Him. That means once a person truly believes in Jesus, God takes control of his/her life.

Conclusion:

A person cannot be condemned after he or she believes in Jesus because all of his/her sins have been forgiven, including future sins. Once a person believes in Jesus Christ his/her past, present, and future sins have been forgiven too! That is the message of Heb. 10:14.

For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (NASB) Heb. 10:14

You stated that if a Christian’s future sins are forgiven a lot of them would commit suicide. But most Christians want to please God and will not commit suicide. Being a follower of Jesus is not belonging to some type of social club and doing what one prefers. Being a Christian includes a willingness to suffer for Jesus and a willingness to grow through difficult situations.

A Christian’s future spiritual life does not depend upon some future earthly mistake. It depends only upon Jesus’ loving and unbelievable forgiveness. Jesus said that He would not lose anyone and that includes you, if you are a Christian.

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