Then there's another group. I call this group the "God without grace" group. They spew out condemning sentences like, "Sorry to have to say this but suicide is the only unpardonable sin." They think they are serving the Higher Good by taking the pain of these strangers and wiping it across the proverbial Christian floor. To what purpose does this serve?
There are many things wrong with this approach. Let's look at it through the eyes of Jesus (I am not a Bible scholar. I have learned this through 26 years of church and Bible study. If some of what I say is incorrect, please know it's not my intent to misrepresent God's Word in any way).
Before Jesus sent the disciples out in His name to teach and baptize people in His name, He spent three and a half years showing them by example and by teaching through parables how He wanted it done. They learned how to pray to the Father, how to have compassion for the poor, the blind, the mentally ill and the lame, how to see the rabble as Jesus saw them - with a void in their soul that only Jesus could fill and how He was the Son of God, the Messiah they've been waiting for.
The birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus was the most profound act of love there has ever been and ever will be. God sent his one and only Son to die for the sins of all humanity once and for all. There would be no more blood shed of innocent animals as a sin sacrifice in the Ark of the Tabernacle. Anyone who received Jesus' gift of substitutionary atonement for their sin was forgiven of their sin as far as the east is from the west. The old was gone, the new had come. They were now a new creation. Born Again.
So the question remains, is there any act that can take away your salvation? Yes, here it is:
Matthew 12:31-32 [Full Chapter]
And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
So you have to ask yourself, what language are you speaking to the Holy Spirit, our Counselor whom Jesus gave when we became believers? Are you blaspheming Him (speak irreverently about God or sacred things; swear, curse or take the Lord's name in vain)?
I'm not talking about getting mad at Him. I'm talking about turning your back on your faith, denying Christ as your Lord and Savior and basically joining the other side. Sadly, some people are disillusioned and end up making that choice.
Are you ready for the good news? Apart from blasphemy, you cannot lose your salvation. Jesus said no one can snatch us out of the Father's hand. We are saved, our salvation is secure, we did not give it to ourselves and we cannot give it back to God. We are in God's book of life. Our place in Heaven is secure. No matter what.
Wrap up, I wrote a response to a woman who was angered about people judging Robin Williams for choosing to commit suicide. I don't know if I responded well but here's what I said:
People make choices and no one has any control over which way others are going to go. Some choose suicide and some choose to fight to live. I have major depressive disorder (the worst kind, incidentally). No cure, meds fail about every 12-18 months, major depression pitfall about every 15-30 days, suicidal ideation frequently, many hospitalizations and that's just one mental illness I have to deal with out of the menu I have. I shake like Parkinson's a lot of the time. Can't think right, memory is shot, have a genius i.q. but a broken mind. I'm an attempt survivor. Do I know how Robin Williams felt? Of course not. Do I wish he would have chosen to make one more phone call? Reach out one more time? Try one more medication? Have one more conversation? Of course I do. Not because I'm judging him for how he died but because of how much I wanted him to live - just one day at a time, as all of us do in sobriety.
