Can someone be a Christian and want to end their life or be a true Christian if they’ve followed through on suicide? The short answer is yes. But, let me offer you a longer answer as to why.
It has been a historical Christian perspective that if you end your own life, you are destined for hell. This would be because you don't have an opportunity to repent of the sin of murder. This absence of confession and repentance would lead to no forgiveness, and therefore eternal damnation. There are at least two problems with this perspective: selfjustification and inconsistency.
Justification is a theological term used by Christians to mean that we are saved from the penalty of our sin; the penalty for which is death and hell. This is because Christ already paid the penalty by experiencing it on our behalf. Once you have put your faith in Jesus, you are justified. The eternal consequence of your sins has been dealt with completely. None of this is because of anything you have done. It is all because of what Jesus has done on the cross.
If we hold to the perspective that we have to formally say that we’re sorry for every sin we commit before we die to be saved from its penalty, then the cross of Christ is no longer the source of justification. We are. The truth is that Christ died once and for all sin - past, present and future - whether it is verbally repented of or not.
Another problem with this perspective is that it’s inconsistent, meaning that we don’t apply the same thought process to other sins. What if I stole something or lusted after someone or lied or gossiped or killed someone and then I got hit by a truck and died? There was still no opportunity to confess and repent, so did I lose my salvation then?
Its inconsistency also lies in the reality of unknown or unintentional sin. What about the sins that we don’t know we have committed? I will probably die with unconfessed sin in my life via ignorance. Do I stand before God as condemned? Does sin ever make us lose our standing with God?
No.Â
Hallelujah!