Welcome to Apostolic Life in the 21st Century, a podcast dedicated to helping modern day believers live out the teachings of the First Century.

This podcast is part of the teaching ministry of Dr. David K. Bernard.

Dr. Bernard is dedicated his life to studying the Bible and helping believers apply its message to their daily lives.

In Apostolic Life in the 21st century, Dr. Bernard answers your questions about what the Bible teaches and how those

teachings apply to everyday life. Thank you for joining us for this broadcast. In today's episode, we want to talk about a very difficult subject that's very personal for many people.

This is National Suicide Prevention Week here in the United States, and we know that there are people in this audience who have lost somebody that they love to suicide.

When this happens, of course, it inevitably raises questions that don't have good answers.

When a Christian chooses to take their own life, it causes loved ones to wrestle with doubt about that deceased individual's eternal destiny.

What does the Bible say about suicide? Is suicide effectively the unpardonable sin? Can someone who commits suicide still be saved?

That's a tough question, but an important question. So I'm going to answer it

theologically and pastorally. And I would preface it by saying, if you or someone you know

is struggling with thoughts of suicide,

first of all, you need to get help.

You need to get spiritual help.

You need to talk to someone,

and if you need counseling, you should do that.

And if you need help from a professional, a doctor,

you should do that.

You should not just condemn yourself for having these thoughts or

struggles, but you should be able to get help. Now, theologically, we do believe that human life is a gift from God,

that humans are created in the image of God, and therefore it's a sin to take human life without cause,

without just cause. And so suicide does fall in that category, that it's wrong. It is a sin.

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