Caller:I'm a student, I go to high school, and in our Christian class we've been discussing the question of if people commit suicide will they go to heaven? I just wanted your input on it and maybe if you have any Biblical evidence?
Pastor Doug: Well, first of all, let's analyze. The Bible says that the just shall live by faith. Typically, not in every case, a suicide is a result of a person losing hope and losing faith. In most cases, a suicide would be lost. Not only because of that, but the Bible says 'Thou shalt not kill', and that would include yourself. So if it's a sin to take life that you cannot create, that would include your own life. There are rare exceptions: for instance, Samson. He basically was a suicide. He laid down his life to save others. Technically, a person who kills himself to save others is a suicide, but they may be doing it rather out of love than hopelessness. So, only God knows the heart. There are some people who have taken their lives because their grief was more than they could bear. They loved the Lord, they served the Lord, but they were in so much agony because of physical suffering or some emotional devastation or chemical change they may have done it. I would not venture to judge and say all suicides are lost. I would say that it's the rare exception.