Suicide And Ministry

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Suicide, Suffering, and the Growing Crisis

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth, and I am in it to win it. I don't know what I am. I'm sick, man. I'm feeling bad. I'm feeling poor. I need a good theology of sickness.

That's what I need. Today, I'd like to talk a little bit about suicide. Because I want to commit suicide, I have always found it odd, sad, strange, unfathomable, whether I was a Christian or not a Christian, thinking about suicide.

Now, as I was older, oh, maybe there was a fleeting thought here or there. If something happened, would I ever do it? I mean, it was more of a thought process. But I'm concerned about suicide as a pastor because I know people struggle with it, and lots of people have had relatives who have committed suicide.

So how do we walk through and work through those things? And since I have family members who have had other family members commit suicide, this is not an academic topic alone for me. So you can write me, info at NoCompromiseRadio.

Mike Abendroth here today, always biblical, always provocative, always in that order. Today may be a little more pastoral as we discuss this topic. Now, I have a leadership journal in front of me, and it's from PreachingToday .com under their section Toolkit.

Tara Parker Pope writes an article, Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in the U .S., from the New York Times, 2013. And so let me just give you a little update as suicide rates rise sharply, and then figure out how we can minister to people who are suicidal.

I just was driving down to Newport the other day, Newport, Rhode Island, and, you know, they've got the big bridges there. And usually when you see big bridges are the Golden Gate Bridge, George Washington Bridge, all kinds of placards, all kinds of signs, suicide prevention, there's hope, one call away, lots of things like that.

And so it is an issue. People's lives are distressed. There's trouble in the world. It's a fallen world. There's physical pain. There's emotional pain. There's mental pain, all kinds of issues. And some people think the only way out is suicide.

Now, it is a way out. It's a way out of this particular life on earth. But we are eternal beings, forward-looking at least, because there was a time when we did not exist, and then we were born, and we will exist forever, at least our spirits will exist forever.

There will be a short time where we will have no body, later on we'll be given a body, and then we'll exist forever in a body. And so people want to commit suicide to get out of this world, and in fact they do.

But the question is, if you're a Christian, why would you do that? And if you're an unbeliever, don't ever do that because you think you're going to get out of pain here. But then there's going to be something worse.

The Rise in Suicide Rates and the Search for Hope

So first let me give you the suicide rate increase, according to New York Times article. And then we can talk about it a little bit more. May 2013 article in the New York Times notes that suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen sharply in the past decade.

That's their quote. Here are the stats behind the trend. So what kind of stats do they have to tell us that these things are happening? And of course when I hear young people, I mean, you know, 12-year-olds and 10-year-olds committing suicide, I don't think I really even knew what it was when I was 10.

I didn't know what cutting was. I knew that. I didn't know what really happened in terms of sex at 10. I may have even believed in Santa Claus at 10. I have no idea. But there was an innocence, I think, in this post-culture, post-modern culture, post-Christian culture, post-evangelical culture.

People are educated so much faster. And I have other thoughts, but I need to stay on target here. We only have 24 minutes of the show. From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose nearly 30%.

So a 30 increase in suicide, self-kill. And we're going to talk a little bit about can people commit suicide and still go to heaven. I get regularly asked that question. The next little sub-point here is more Americans now die of suicide, 38 ,000 plus, than car accidents, 33 ,000 plus.

That's 3 ,000 more people who die from suicide each year than in car crashes. And, again, such a sad thing because I know people who have had suicides in the family. Devastating. The more pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in which suicides jumped by nearly 50%.

And I guess, at least psychologically or socially, the reason could be in your 30s, 20s, and probably even in early 40s, you still think I have a career. This could happen in my future. Your body feels pretty good.

Your back's not too bad. Your friends are still alive. Probably your parents are still even alive in many cases. And then once you hit your 50s, though, then what kind of career do you have? I mean anything's possible, of course, with the Lord's intervention, but just average-wise in your health and your family.

Suicide rate for middle-aged men was three times higher than for middle-aged women. Researchers claim that the reasons for suicide are often complex, but this article focused on two factors. So this is New York Times.

We're not talking about folks on the family or anything remotely Christian. The stress of the economic downturn and the widespread availability of prescription painkillers. Isn't that interesting? But it's also hinted that deeper issues like failed expectations and loss of hope might be a root cause.

Dr. Julie Phillips, we're not even talking about psychotropic drugs either. Dr. Julie Phillips, a researcher from Rutgers University, says, quote, the boomers had great expectations for what their life would look like, but it hasn't turned out that way.

Dr. Phillips warns that future generations will be facing the same conditions that lead to the sense of despair. But I thought you could have it all. I thought if you just worked hard enough, you could get whatever you wanted.

I thought this was the American dream. And then all of a sudden, everything that Madison Avenue has told us has not delivered. And if it did deliver, it was a short-term delivery. We had it all, but there are consequences.

Virginia Slims, you can have it all, you could do it all, but there are consequences. You can't have everything, and there's something inside of us. God has set our hearts built in eternity in our hearts, Ecclesiastes.

And so you've got to think of something transcendent. The only thing that'll satisfy is a transcendent God who has by choice become eminent or close. Without a transcendent God, without God, can a life be worth living?

Now, of course, I'm not saying if you're not a believer, you can't enjoy any common grace in your life, because you can. My question is, is there any correlation between suicide rates and how God is basically taken out of our culture, and taken out of the pulpit, for that matter, at least in mainline churches.

And in many evangelical churches, you know, no, not as much, although we've got a lot more moralism being proclaimed these days. Now, let's just think about suicide for a little bit. Of course, the Old Testament, in the Ten Commandments, immediately people say, thou shalt not kill.

And, of course, the word there is murder. There's a different word for kill. We're not talking about men who are Marines who have to kill in a war. That would not be a breaking of the Ten Commandments.

And we don't think that policemen who shoot someone who's going to attack another person with a knife, if he shoots to kill, that is not murder. That's killing. There's two separate words. It is a sin to murder, but not necessarily a sin to kill.

But what about self-murder? And, of course, if you think about this, there has to be some premeditation, doesn't there? How much premeditation does it take to kill yourself? At least a couple seconds.

Say, I'm going to kill myself, although that's pretty rare. Although I do have to say that when you're standing up in some high tower by the bridge, I don't have any thoughts of suicide, but sometimes I get these weird thoughts.

Maybe I'm the only one in the world that thinks, what if I just jump off? Maybe I will jump off. I don't want to jump off, but I'm somehow tempted to jump off. This is some kind of satanic deception to get me to jump off the pinnacle, the corner of the temple.

I mean, it's weird. It was years ago. I was a new pastor, probably 14, 15 years ago, and we had a lady attending the church. Her background was assemblies of God, and not because that really matters, just part of the story, what I remember of her.

And she asked me if I would be willing to come to her home in Lemonster and do a funeral. I said I'd be honored to do it, and she said it's for my loved one, and he committed suicide. And I said, oh, I'm so sorry to hear that because, again, things that have happened in my own family.

Understanding the pressure and the vice grip of pain and if I would have and could have and just the sadness, the selfishness of suicide, and we'll talk about that hopefully too as well. My name is Mike Ebendroth.

We're talking about suicide a little bit today, more pastorally. And so she said to me he committed suicide. He said he was a Christian, and I believe he was. And, of course, you know, through the words of a grieving aunt or a grieving mother, I don't know whether they're a Christian or not, and I don't really need to know.

And do you think Christians could commit suicide? And I said I think the answer is yes. Now, in my Lutheran background, I needed to have all my sins confessed before I went to sleep because I hate to fall asleep, similar to Roman Catholicism, with unconfessed sins, sins that aren't dealt with.

And since my view of the cross was low, then the view of penitence and view of confession was hyper. Then I was going through all these different sins that I would commit and then ask for forgiveness and then I could sleep at night.

But, of course, you know, that never worked because there are so many sins that I didn't even know about and sins of omission and commission, etc. And so if you use that template, then there's no time for repentance after suicide.

Justification, Imputed Righteousness, and Whether a Christian Can Die by Suicide

So what does that do? Now, let's just think about the cross and let's think about sin, and I would say there's a certain insanity for all sin, especially for when a Christian sins. There's a breakdown mentally.

The gaps, synapses are not gapping properly because to sin, it's really crazy. It's basically Nebuchadnezzar-like where we think we did it all and we think we own it all, we think we earned it all, we think we're all in all, and it's nothing but craziness.

And so God says to Nebuchadnezzar, if that's the way you want to think, that's pure lunacy. That's howling at the moon stuff. That is insanity, and if you want insanity, often God judges sin with more of the same kind.

Sexual sin is given over to more sexual sin, see Romans 1. Well, next thing you know, Nebuchadnezzar is crazy because it's crazy to think that you did everything and that you're sovereign and everything you see is a work of your hands only without the grace of God.

So, can a Christian sin? Yes. We are not Wesleyan perfectionists. We believe that the penalty of sin has been dealt with by God because of the greatness of Christ's life and death confirmed by the resurrection.

We believe that the presence of sin is still around, although that will be eradicated, is the word I'm looking for, so much for my medical background in contrast isotopes. And we now have the power of sin, and is it in fact broken?

And what does Romans 6 say in union with Christ? Walking by the Spirit and put on the new man. There's a variety of different ways we can look at this. But Christians do sin. I know it's stupid. I know it's crazy.

I know it doesn't match up to our position in Christ, but we do sin. And we're very thankful that justification takes care of all of our future sin. Colossians chapter 2, future sins as well. All of our sins paid for by Jesus, it is finished.

And so, whatever sin you're sinning, can you think a lustful thought and then die and still go to heaven if you're a Christian? Yes. Well, because all Christians go to heaven. If God has chose you in eternity past, Jesus died for you, redemption was accomplished at Calvary and then applied by the Spirit of God in time.

It's God's name at stake. You can't lose your salvation because you didn't earn it. It's God's glory. This is not some Pelagian, semi-Pelagian, Arminian deal here. This is all of God's work. And the good example is Lazarus.

And God saved Lazarus from the grave physically by calling him out. Unilaterally, monergistically, and that's a good picture of salvation as well. So, anyway, I think Christians can be greedy and then die.

I think they could be selfish and die. I think they could yell at their wife and die. I think they could believe something improperly about God and then die. And the list goes on. So, if you're a real Christian, you know, the question is going to be, are you a real Christian if you commit suicide?

But people have brain tumors and they don't think properly and they are on some kind of medication for something for the thyroid or whatever. But when Christians die, even if they have not repented and confessed every little sin, Jesus has died for every little sin.

There's no little sin, of course, you know, because it's against God's majesty and His holiness. But every sin, large or small, in our minds, from gossip and tail-bearing to suicide, it's covered. Now, Christians shouldn't commit suicide.

Christians must not. If you're listening today and you're bordering on suicide, what does that tell the world about your Savior when you call yourself a Christian and then you commit suicide? I mean, what a horrible testimony.

How selfish can you get? I went out of pain. I know you have pain. But Christ is sufficient. Say, well, I have this issue. Yes, but when you're weak, you're strong. You need to read 2 Corinthians 12 over and over and over and over again.

You exist not for yourself, but you exist for God. So don't you play that game of selfish, woe is me, and you're going to get out as a Christian because of that, because you have a testimony to bear witness to Christ Jesus and what He's done for you.

It is inappropriate. It is selfish. It is sinful. You must not commit suicide if you're a Christian for lots of reasons, the one being the supremacy of King Jesus, your Savior. And so you say, I can't live through another day.

Well, today there's grace sufficient for you. But I do believe, and it's easily provable, that whatever sin committing that Christians are in the act of and they die, they're still forgiven because of justification, because of an imputed righteousness, an alien righteousness.

That is, Jesus' own life, His perfect life, credited to the believer's account by the grace of God, unmerited in terms of man's viewpoint. And then we also have all our sins placed on Christ, and He bears those, including whatever future sins we've committed, including even the sin of suicide.

Jesus died for suicide of all the elect. Of any of the elect that committed suicide, He died for that sin as well. What did He die just for every other sin except suicide? And suicide now is the unpardonable sin?

This is not trying to get you to commit suicide if you're a Christian. This is just talking about the facts. Now, some think Samson was a man who committed suicide, and of course he's in heaven. And Hebrews chapter 11 talks about that, that he has not committed suicide, but that he's in heaven because of his faith in God, the redeeming God.

He didn't get to heaven because he committed suicide. And he got to heaven in spite of suicide. And you say, well, it's not really suicide like we would think. But it was intentional, and he knew he was going to die, and of course he's there.

And so you say, well, that doesn't really count as much. What about ministering to suicidal people? What about—oh, back to the story of Lemonster. So I went to their home, and they said, well, let's have a service.

And when I got there, they just wanted to ask me questions about this, theological questions. Because it matters to them. What do we do? I mean, it's one thing to have someone commit suicide. It's another thing if they commit suicide, they're going to go burn in hell.

You know, that's why I'm so sad when unbelievers commit suicide, because I know how the family feels because it's awful. And then to think that the release of pain on the earth yields forth greater torment, first spiritually, then you're going to be given a body equipped for eternal torments, the lake of fire, that never end.

It's just—it's unimaginable to me. And then before you know it, people start throwing out, you know, just God would not give infinite punishment for finite sin kind of, you know, irrational statements like that.

Ministering to Families After Suicide and Calling the Church to Hope

And so I think the reason why suicide rates are going up is because many things. Obviously, the sin of man. Obviously, psychotropic drugs, if you read on the list, may increase suicidal thoughts. I mean, you can hear it on TV.

I think that's a factor. I think marketing is a factor. I think that the acceptability of suicide in the culture, I think maybe the stigma is not as great. But generally, specifically and particularly when a family member commits suicide, there's still a stigma.

I mean, you just—how do you even admit it? You know, if you have a loved one, they die of cancer. It's horrible. You have a loved one, they kill themselves. I mean, what does that say to the family? You don't love us enough to be wanting to be with us, and you'd rather just get out of this world?

Bill Maher said, If you believe in Judgment Day, I have to seriously question your judgment. He said this on HBO Real Time. If you believe you are in a long-term relationship with an all-powerful space daddy who will, after you die, party with your ghost forever, there's an electrical fire going on in your head.

At the end of the day, is magic underwear really that much crazier than giant arcs or virgin births or talking bushes? You're either a rationalist or you're not. No, you're either a supernaturalist or you're not.

And the good news is a recent poll found 20 of adults under 30 say they are rationalist and have figured out that Santa Claus and Jesus are really the same guy. Bill Maher, the war on Christianity. How sad that is.

How sad. And if you do believe in evolution, I think that's a contributing factor to suicide as well. And if things aren't going so well, then you might as well get out of the way. So goes the thinking.

Of course, sinful thinking. Of course, bad thinking. But if you're just going to die anyway, then why not speed it up? And this touches on all kinds of issues, doesn't it? Euthanasia, mercy killing. It's all wrapped together.

And so how do we minister to families that have had a suicide in the family? I think that's pretty simple in terms of how you tell people you love them by your actions and your deeds and your countenance.

We just need to come alongside of them. And we know the stigma of that is not going to prevent our loving them and being kind to them. But I more today want to talk to the people who are saying, I am a Christian and now Eben Droth's given me a way out.

Should you have the way out? Is that your option, really? I just have one verse. This is the one verse I want to read today. And you're going to say, well, I want that verse to be, there's no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

That's what I want. Well, I'm going to give you a different verse. What should we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase? Okay, I'll give you one more verse. May it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

So it is the goal of the Christian as they suffer like Jesus suffered. And this is a broken world. It is a fallen world. It is a sin-cursed world and bad things are happening, will happen until Jesus returns and until we get to the eternal state.

What do we have to do? We need to be there to minister to folks. And we need to call Christians to say, there's a God to be relied upon while you suffer. And your shoulders aren't big enough. Your spouse's shoulders aren't big enough.

But Jesus' shoulders are big enough. And cast all your cares upon him because it matters to him about you. That's 1 Peter 5, literally. It matters to God about you, Christian, regarding your difficulties and trials and struggles.

And when you have suicidal temptations, you need to repent of those and turn and think about something else instead and go serve other people. I know you were hurt. I know you're physically falling apart.

I know you missed your loved ones, but you're here to serve. And it is God's prerogative. It is God's sovereign mandate to take you when he wants to take you. You don't pull the trigger, either proverbially or literally, because that's not your right.

You are a person bought with a price, aren't you? Yes. And so you have been united with Jesus, and so you want to be like him. And your old self, that self that says, I'm only concerned about me, is crucified with him, right?

And you're freed from sin. You're free from the penalty of sin. Power of sin is broken, and the presence of sin will be taken away one day of God's ordaining, of God's choosing, not yours. So, Mike Abendroth here, No Compromise Radio.

And as suicide rates increase, the church is going to have more opportunity to minister to people who are hurting big time. Could you hurt more than having a loved one commit suicide? I personally know the answer, and the answer is no.

And so we need a friend who sticks closer than a brother. My name is Mike Abendroth. This is NoCompromiseRadio .com.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible-teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.