Friday, December 2, 2011 (All day)
Is one who commits suicide "damned with the wicked"? The answer reveals the hope of the gospel.
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[Steve Myers] A question came in on our Beyond Today question page and it was from a person who was worried about suicide. They had a relative of theirs who had committed suicide and they were extremely distraught over the fact of the death in the family and what would happen to that individual. Were they damned forever? And so this is one of those questions that is such a heart rending situation, and what does the Bible have to say about it? Are they lost forever? Darris? You know, when you think about that, your heart goes out to those who have experienced such a terrible tragedy in their family.
[Darris McNeely] And this question came in from a Beyond Today viewer, Steve, who had a friend whose son committed suicide as a result of post-traumatic stress syndrome and the specific question was "Does a suicide victim, are they damned with the wicked?" In other words, are they eternally lost?
[Steve Myers] Right.
[Darris McNeely] And that's certainly an honest, heart-felt question to consider for suicide. You know, suicide is one of the leading causes of death, especially among young people and it's hardly anyone who's not been touched by suicide—either through their family or someone that they know. And, young or old, suicide leaves such a gap in peoples' lives. And I think it's important to understand scripturally that at death, the Bible tells us that the dead know nothing. That their very thoughts perish in that day. The Psalms, the book of Ecclesiastes tell us that God in His mercy has designed life so that when life ceases, when the mind ceases to function, there are no more thoughts. So the thoughts of suffering and agony that lead a person to take their own life are over, Steve. (Psalm 6:5 and Ecclesiastes 9:5)
[Steve Myers] Right. Absolutely. Well, the Bible is clear that suicide is wrong. It's wrong to murder. But, I think, maybe the most important question, is there hope? Is there hope? And Christ talked about hope. He talked in John chapter 5, He says that all in the graves will hear His voice (John 5:24-30). That there's coming a time for a resurrection when everyone will have an opportunity to know the truth and make a choice to follow God. So they're not lost. Christ Himself was very clear on that. Everyone will have an opportunity to know the truth.
[Darris McNeely] And a little known understanding of the Scriptures is that there is a resurrection that is described in the book of Revelation chapter 20 beginning in verse 11 that's sometimes called the Great White Throne Judgment period where it says that all the dead, small and great, will stand before God and the books will be opened to them (Revelation 20:11-15). People will have an opportunity to live a life successfully. And people who do commit suicide are not damned with the wicked in some eternal form of punishment. They will have a chance, an opportunity to come back to life and live a better life and prepare for an eternity in the family of God.
[Steve Myers] In fact, on the website right here , you go up to the right hand corner and type in resurrection or type in suicide and articles will come up that you can read to get more information about it so that you don't have to live in fear and you don't have to live in anxiety for a lost relative. You can begin to understand the truth of the plan of God.
[Darris McNeely] Yeah, Joe, Your friend's son will live again. He's not damned eternally. He's not damned with the wicked. He will live again. He will live a better life without the mental agony and suffering that caused him to take his life today. That's the good news. You can believe it. And that's BT Daily . Join us next time.
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