If someone dies by suicide, can they still go to heaven?
If you lost someone to suicide, you may be carrying grief and a terrible question at the same time. If you are thinking about ending your life, please stop and read this first: you matter, and there is help right now. In the U.S., call or text 988. You can also call your local emergency number.
Suicide is not the unforgivable sin, and the Bible never says it automatically sends someone to hell. Salvation rests on a person’s relationship with Jesus, and God, who sees the whole heart, is the only judge. Many people who die by suicide are not rejecting God; they are in overwhelming pain, often from illness that distorts how they see everything. At the same time, your life is a gift from God, and He has more for you than this moment of darkness. If you are struggling, the most important thing is not this question. It’s getting help today.
Need someone right now? People are praying in the Watch. Pray with them →
Elijah asked God to take his life
The prophet Elijah, after one of the greatest victories in Scripture, ran into the wilderness, sat under a tree and prayed that he might die: “I have had enough, LORD. Take my life” (1 Kings 19:4). God didn’t scold him. He let him sleep, sent an angel with food and water, and let him rest again. Then He met him in a gentle whisper and gave him new purpose and a companion (1 Kings 19:5–21). God meets people in their darkest place with care.
For those who have lost someone
Your grief is real, and so is the confusion. Remember who your loved one was at their best, not only how they died. Trust them to a God who is more merciful than any of us. And please don’t carry this alone: grief after suicide is heavy, and counselors and support groups can help.
For you, if you are struggling
The pain you feel is real, but it is lying to you about the future. People who survive a crisis often say later that they are glad they did. Call or text 988 now, tell someone you trust, or go to an emergency room. God is not finished with your story.
What the Bible says
- 01
Close to the brokenhearted.
“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 - 02
Nothing can separate us from His love.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38–39 - 03
Your life is His gift.
“For You formed my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and I know this very well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be.”
Psalm 139:13–16 - 04
God cares for the weary.
“while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” And he looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. A second time the angel of the LORD returned and touched him, saying, “Get up and eat, or the journey will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.”
1 Kings 19:4–8 - 05
Come to Me and rest.
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 - 06
A future and a hope.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.
If you are struggling right now, call or text 988, or tell one person today. If you are grieving, write down one memory of your loved one at their best and share it with someone.
Common questions
Is suicide an unforgivable sin?
No. The only sin Jesus called unforgivable is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, a hardened rejection of God. Suicide is a tragedy, but it is not that.
Why didn’t God stop it?
We don’t know, and pretending we do doesn’t help. God grieves this loss with you (John 11:35), and He is near to you in it.
Where can I get help?
In the U.S., call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Outside the U.S., contact your local emergency number or a local crisis line. You can also come to the Watch and let people pray with you right now.
You don’t have to carry this alone tonight.
The Watch is Become’s prayer room. It never closes, and believers around the world are praying in it right now. Come in and pray with them, or talk it through in your own words.