Recently a pastor and mental health advocate committed suicide at the age of 30. Tragic. Especially when you consider that most Christians consider suicide an unforgivable sin. Now, we know that Jesus spoke of an unforgivable sin.
"I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." (Matt 12:31)There it is ... a sin that will not be forgiven. So such a sin exists. On the other hand, John wrote, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Apparently, the "we" to whom he refers cannot commit such an unforgivable sin.
Scripture talks about only one sin that is unpardonable -- blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In fact, it's not really clear what that is. Some argue it's going to your death without receiving Christ. Maybe, but it's not evident from the text. Others argue that according to the text it would be ascribing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit. Okay, fine, but we know that believers can't do it, so ...?
What we do know is that it's not the only unforgivable sin, right? We know, for instance, that divorce is unforgivable. Oh, no? Well, given the response of many believers to many believers who have been there, it would seem so. Those who have committed murderer, child molesting, adultery, you know, really bad sins cannot be forgiven. At least that often appears to be the way we think. Or, maybe, is it just that we hold the sins of others against them longer than God does?
There is, biblically, one unpardonable sin. Suicide is not it. Neither is divorce or homosexual behavior or a whole list of things that we seem to carry around. If we confess our sin, He forgives it all. The good news is that those who are in Christ are forgiven -- past, present, and future. Those who are in Christ are not damned for suicide or any other evil. It ought to bring peace to families who have lost loved ones to suicide that if their loved one was in Christ, suicide and all, they are with Him in heaven. It ought also to bring peace between brothers and sisters in Christ if we find that one of us sinned ... really bad. Because we all have.
6 comments:
If you watched the video, you know this hits close to home with me. While I don’t think people calling suicide an unforgivable sin is a significant part of the cause, I certainly doesn’t help.
The Church as a whole is not particularly good at dealing with mental health issues and doesn’t do a good job of referring people to good resources. Most pastors are ill equipped to deal with these situations and too many will scorn all mental health professionals as not being Christian. I know that finding Christian mental health professionals was a huge piece of our treatment process.
The Church needs to get in front of this and do better than “suicide is an unforgivable sin”. I honestly don’t think many actually know the scope of the problem, and what a role social media plays. I also suspect that when kids are told that human life has no value, that we’re the product of random chance, and that there’s no hope, it doesn’t help.
Sorry for the soapbox.
The church as a whole is not particularly good at bearing one anothers burdens, so the more complicated it gets (like mental health issues), the worse it gets. We're okay with "Be warm and fed," but much beyond that generally alludes the church. (That being said, I've known several very good Christian mental health professionals.)
I completely agree that my family has been blessed with multiple Christian mental health professionals, but that the ones I've known have all been outside of the Church.
I agree that it's safe and easy to "feed, clothe, and house" people, the problem is that we're not called to take the safe and easy path. I definitely think that, based on what I've seen, that the mental health crisis in our younger generations is going to continue to grow, and that the Church needs to get in the game.
I agree, but I'm curious. I assume "Christian" includes "inside the Church." You mean "Outside of my local church" or "Outside most local churches" or something else? If I needed a mental health professional (for myself or whomever) and certainly would want a Christian, I would hope that Christian would be in the church. On the other hand, I know it's not always the case. I told a "Christian counselor" once that I was fully loved by Christ, so I was free to love my wife without demanding anything in return. She told me, "That's crazy." Can we ask again what "Christian" means? :)
Good questions. I agree that a Christian mental health professional who wasn't "in The Church" in the sense of being a part of a local congregation would probably be a bad choice.
The people I'm talking about are people who do not practice their profession as a direct part of a local church, but rather work for a practice that specializes in mental health care.
The distinction I'm making is that it's rare to find trained mental health professionals on staff at a church, and that most pastors aren't equipped to provide the necessary care. In our case, one of our professionals is a Christian Counselor in solo practice (not like the one you mention), and one of the professionals was employed by one of the best local treatment options who we later found out was a Christian.
There are a few reasons I'd be leery of a Christian Counselor, one is exactly what you noted.
Hope this helps.
Got it. I get it. I understand.
Post a Comment