Suicide is responsible for 44,965 deaths a year, making it the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., and the number one preventable death. Suicide has risen 25% over the last couple of decades and 10% just since Robyn Williams‘ self-murder in 2014. Sadly, even some pastors have committed this wicked act and thus will suffer the eternal consequences (Ezekiel 3:20). The historic church from Augustine to Thomas Aquinas to John Wesley have all warned about suicide being the sin of self-murder. Yet, as this endemic grows the church is falling for the same lies as the godless culture by offering it as an escape from mental anguish. The church must return to the ways of God’s Word and see this sin eradicated with a biblical worldview by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit!

SERIES TEXTS

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Romans 12:1-2, “1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

SERIES DEFINITIONS

  1. WORLDVIEW: How you see the world.
  2. LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE: Your axiom (bottom level), presuppositions (based on your axiom), and propositions (derived from your axiom and presuppositions). More info here.
  3. A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW: Seeing the world through the lens of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
    1. Axiom: The Protestant Bible (sixty-six books) is the Word of God and is the foundation for all truth and knowledge.
    2. Presuppositions: The Word of God gives the following categories of knowledge; “God, creation, humanity, Jesus, salvation, and judgment.”
    3. Propositions: All implications derived from good biblical exegesis and logic.
  4. EXAMPLE OF USING YOUR BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IN REGARDS TO HOMOSEXUALITY: Because my axiom is, “The Protestant Bible (sixty-six books) is the Word of God and is the foundation for all truth and knowledge” I presuppose that homosexuality is against God’s created order for humanity and propose that you don’t act in such a way lest you perish based on 1 Timothy 1:8-11.
  5. LAW OF NON-CONTRADICTION: Nothing can be and not be. “A” cannot be different from “B” and be the same as “B” at the same time. (Genesis 1:4, God distinguishes and separates between what is and what is not, like He did with light and darkness, “God separated the light from the darkness…”). Therefore, any worldview that contradicts itself is self-refuting and thus false.
  6. ALL WORLDVIEWS BESIDE A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IS SELF-REFUTING: Give enough time to examine every worldview aside from the biblical worldview and it will be found self-refuting in regards to its axiom, presuppositions, and propositions.

SERMON TEXTS

Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.” Revelation 21:7-8, “7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

DISEASE OR DAMNABLE SIN?

BIBLICAL SOURCES THAT CONFIRM SUICIDE IS A DAMNABLE SIN (ACT OF THE WILL)

DAMNABLE ACT: Any sin that God has said that those who practice willfully will not inherit the Kingdom of God. For example, Galatians 5:19-21 states, “19 The acts of the flesh are obvious… idolatry… hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition… and envy… and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” And, Hebrews 10:26-31, “26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Note: See Suicide notes for evidence of these things being present in suicide or in fiction “13 Reasons Why”). Further Biblical References: 
  1. Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”
  2. Revelation 21:7-8, “7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
  3. Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
  4. Proverbs 8:35-36, “35 For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. 36 But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”
  5. Romans 1:29-32, “29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (see Suicide notes for evidence of these things)
  6. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, “16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.”
  7. Matthew 5:29-30, “29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
  8. Both Judas (John 13:27 & Matthew 27:5) and Saul (1 Samuel 16:14 & 31:4)- who murdered themselves- are looked at as being cursed by God; under the influence of the devil.

SCIENCE & CLINICAL STUDIES FROM NON-BIBLICAL SOURCES THAT CONFIRM SUICIDE BEING A DAMNABLE SIN (ACT OF THE WILL)

  1. “There is no known unifying underlying pathophysiology for either suicide or depression” – Delhi Psychiatry Journal.
  2. “Simple biochemical theories that link low levels of serotonin with depressed mood are no longer tenable” – World Psychiatry.
  3. “Suicide, taking your own life, is a tragic reaction to stressful life situations — and all the more tragic because suicide can be prevented” – Mayo Clinic.
  4. “More than half of people (54%) who died by suicide did not have a known mental health condition” – Center for Disease Control.
  5. “Many factors contribute to suicide among those with and without mental health conditions: Relationship problem (42%). Problematic substance use (28%). Crisis in the past or upcoming two weeks (29%). Criminal legal problem (9%). Physical health problem (22%). Loss of housing (4%). Job/Financial problem (16%)” – Center for Disease Control.
  6. Suicide notes (left by upwards of 50% of self-murders) prove people are using their will to knowing disobey God.
  7. The leading book on the subject, “Why People Die By Suicide,” by Dr. Thomas Joiner, he lists three reasons why people murder themselves (1. Perceived Burdensomeness, 2. Failed Belongingness & 3. Capable of Suicide), all of which have nothing to do with mental illness.
BOTTOM LINE: Mental illness (nor a diseased brain) never equals suicide. Wicked, selfish, and cowardly sinful acts are always the reason for suicide.

JESUS CAME TO SET SUICIDAL CAPTIVES FREE!

Luke 4:18-19 (KJV), “18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
  1. Be born again, get filled with the Holy Ghost, and live as an obedient disciple of Jesus.
  2. Daily pray and speak the Word of God over your life.
  3. Follow God’s plan for your thoughts in Philippians 4:4-9.
  4. Ask for help and receive instruction when needed (Proverbs 12:1).
Recommended Books:
  1. “The Perfect You,” Dr. Caroline Leaf.
  2. “You Are Not Your Brain,” Dr. Jeffrey Schwarz.
  3. “DARE,” Barry McDonagh.
  4. “Happiness is a Choice,” Dr. Paul Meier.
  5. “Freedom from Fear,” Dr. Neil T. Anderson.
John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”