Is suicide a sin?

Wow. Thanks for a tough question! I believe the Bible is very clear on this matter: the answer is Yes. But, don’t forget, suicide is just one of a number of sins mankind has committed against God. To God, suicide is the same as stealing, worshipping false gods, not honoring your parents and even taking the Lord’s name in vain. He doesn’t make one sin worse than another. To God, sin is sin.

Let me explain why the Bible says it’s a sin. In the New Testament, there are two places in 1 Corinthians where I believe God speaks to this. First off, let me just say that the word “suicide” is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. But, listen to these two verses:

“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The Apostle Paul is telling the people of Corinth that their bodies are temples of the Lord and that the Holy Spirit lives in that temple. Basically, your body is sacred and God won’t take kindly to anyone who destroys His temple. Furthermore, God really stresses that we’re to honor Him with our bodies. Killing our own bodies does not honor God and also violates one of God’s original commandments:

“You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13)

Remember, God is the One who decides how long your life will be (Psalm 139: 15-16, Psalm 39:4). When a person decides to commit suicide, they are taking that decision away from God. Is that a sin? Absolutely. It also the ultimate waste of a life that Jesus gave His own life for! He didn’t suffer and die on the cross just to have a person throw away the life He gave everything for. So, yes, suicide is a sin.

But, also realize that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). The Bible also tells us that there is no one righteous, not one! (Romans 3:10) The only person who was completely perfect and lived without sin was Jesus Christ, who was crucified for all of our sins. He paid the price for all of us so that we could have eternal life with God, the Father. And it is through the power of His resurrection that we are saved! The Holy Bible is very clear on this:

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

So, if you admit your sins, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and then commit to repenting (or turning away from the sins) and following Jesus, then you become God’s child. And, because you are God’s child, you are an heir to the inheritance of eternal life with Him in Heaven!!! Isn’t that awesome???

Why do people do evil things?

Quite simply, it’s because of sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took a bite of that apple, it let sin and evil into this world. But, I need to be clear on this too … God gave us all free will to either choose sin or to choose righteousness. Some people are just truly evil for whatever reasons. They’ve turned their backs on God and decided to live lives that we can’t even understand. We look at truly bad people and say, “Wow, I’m glad I’m not him!” The sad part is we all sin to some degree. Even though we don’t mean to be evil, we sometimes do things that hurt the heart of God. For example, lying to your parents or friends, being angry at someone and hoping something bad will happen to them, cheating on a test, or maybe stealing some candy when no one is looking. The Bible tells us specifically:

“There is no one righteous; not even one.” (Romans 3:10)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

It seems hopeless, doesn’t it? But, guess what? Here’s the Good News: Jesus Christ came to this earth and died on the cross for our sins. Our belief in that death and resurrection and the gift of grace that Jesus gives us through faith is what saves us from eternal punishment! Now, you have to ask yourself, do I really believe that? I am here to tell you without hesitation or shame that, yes, I believe that.

The reason that belief is so important is because if you don’t believe it or you question your faith, then that’s when fear creeps in. You begin to question things, especially when bad things happen! I have had many kids ask me, “How could God kill all those people in Haiti during that earthquake?” or, “Why does God let little children die?” Because we can’t make sense of it, we begin to falter in our faith, not trusting that God has a reason for it.

And when we doubt God, we allow fear to override our faith. I truly believe that it’s Satan trying to deceive us and to discourage us from trusting God completely. Satan knows that if he can create doubt in your mind, that’s when the fear can creep in. Satan is a master liar. He will do everything he can to make you doubt God’s abilities or love for you; he will even twist God’s word! Remember what he said to Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan came as a serpent and convinced Eve to take a bite of the apple by saying to her, “Did God really say not to eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) Then that darn serpent said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

He tricked Eve and sin came into the world. Once sin entered the world, it allowed doubt to also enter our minds. When we doubt God’s abilities or love for us, we get scared. It’s not because we don’t believe in God, it’s because Satan makes us doubt that God is who He says He is and that God couldn’t possibly do all those things.

But, remember this…it’s all about faith. Know in your heart that God is who He says He is. Know that God is good all the time and that He cannot sin. Know that God loves you and that He has plans for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

What is the difference between Christians and Mormons?

I have done a lot of reading and research on the differences of Christianity and Mormonism. I have also spoken with a number of Mormons who have come to my door, and I know many kids (some in our class) who have some Mormon faith in their background.

I have discovered there are many differences. These differences are very important because they involve what we believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, salvation, and heaven. Below is a comparison of some of the differences. I hope this chart helps you.

Christianity
The Bible is God’s Word (2 Tim 3:16).

Mormonism
The Bible is not the final word of God.

Christianity
God is Spirit and the one and only God (Is. 43:10).

Mormonism
The Father has a body of flesh and bones. There are many gods. Humans can eventually become a god.

Christianity
Jesus is both man and God (John 1:1, 14) and God’s only son (John 3:16).

Mormonism
Jesus is created by the father (a separate being) and is a spirit brother to Lucifer (the devil).

Christianity
Salvation is a free gift provided by God’s grace for all who believe in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross (Rom. 3:22-24).

Mormonism
Salvation comes from faith, good works & meeting church requirements.

Christianity
Those who put their trust in Jesus will spend eternity in heaven with God
(John 14:1-4).

Mormonism
Most of mankind will enter one of three levels of heaven. The highest level is reserved for Mormons.

Here are three of the websites I looked at that I thought were helpful, you might want to look at them with your mom and dad. They provide a lot of information.

Christian Apologetics Research Ministry (This is the Mormon / Latter Day Saints Page): http://www.carm.org/mormon.htm.

Mormon Research Ministry (This site challenges the claims of Mormons): http://www.mrm.org/.

Mormon Info.org (This site really digs deep into your question about the differences): http://www.mormoninfo.org/.


I know this is a lot of information, so start with the chart I made you, and then have some discussions with your mom and dad. If you really start digging deeper, keep asking questions!!

What is the opposite of sin but is not “not sin?”

Okay, first of all I love your question! It actually made me laugh out loud because I was picturing you saying, “Okay, I want to know what the opposite of being cool is and don’t say being uncool!”

But, this is a very awesome and interesting question. Let’s first look at what sin is, okay? If we look at the word sin as a verb (an action), it means to miss the mark, falling short or disobeying God’s laws. If we look at sin as a noun (a thing), it means the state of missing the mark, falling short or disobeying God’s laws.

So, in determining the opposite of sin, I believe the opposite of sin, the verb, is righteousness or holiness. This means that you are walking right with God and being holy, which means you are trying your best to set yourself apart from the ways of the world. We live in a world that says it’s okay to do certain things but God commands us to live His way.

But, here’s the catch: it is impossible to be without sin. Oh, we can try to live righteous lives but we always stumble. Don’t feel bad. EVERYONE does. The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There was only ONE person who ever lived a perfect, sinless life and that was Jesus. So don’t be too hard on yourself when you sin.

And here’s why you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself: because the opposite of sin, the noun, is grace. And Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, “For it is by grace we have been saved, through faith, and this is not from ourselves but it is a gift from God --- not through works so that no man can boast.”

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Because we are sinners we deserve to die and we don’t deserve eternal life in Heaven with God. But, God’s gift of grace, through faith in Him, overcomes the sin in our lives. He will forgive our sins because Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross for us. God also offers us mercy, which is not giving us what we do deserve! Isn’t God good? I know He is and He is good all the time!