To Hell or Not To Hell

With a title like that, you know have to stop and read it. I was faced with a question the other day, not one that you expect to be hit with the second you get to work, but still the question arose. Let me explain what brought about this question, a fellow co-worker lost her daddy this past week. He was dying of cancer, depressed, probably scared for himself, the agony of cancer, and the agony of his family watching him go through cancer. That is such a big load to carry. I have not experienced cancer, but I have family members that have died from cancer, and I have a little understanding of what they must go through. The chemo, that helps prolong your life, often makes you sick, week,hard to get out of bad in the morning. And that isn't a guarantee, that's let's try this and see what it does. My friend's father decided to take his life into his own hands, and now she is faced with the question, can my daddy have gone to heaven if he killed himself? I was raised Assembly of God, and in the AOG beliefs they believe that you can fall away from God's grace, and that you must repent of your sin before you go to heaven. I spent a good deal of my life scared that if I had told a lie or gossiped and did not have the chance to repent, that I was not saved. I struggled with this as I was growing up, it just didn't seem right to me. I can't tell you how many times I have rededicated my life to Christ, probably more times than I can count. My husband and I recently changed denomination, not because we were against AOG, but because we felt God was leading us to a different church. That church just happened to be Baptist. I am not knocking AOG, a lot of my family is AOG, and they are wonderful christian people, We do not always agree on things, and that's OK, I believe we are still covered by God's grace. I love all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what denomination. As my husband and I began to search for biblical truth, and not for religious beliefs, many things became clear to us. 2 years ago I would have said this poor man went to hell. But I no longer believe that, that is if he truly accepted Christ into his life and believed that Jesus died for our sins. I suppose you are waiting to hear what my answer was to her, my answer was actually a question. What if a man is obese, and the doctor tells him he must change his diet or else he will have a heart attack and die, this christian man chooses not to change his diet and dies? Where do you feel this man goes? Ultimately he committed suicide, he knew he would die if he did not change his diet, he chose not to, and died. He took his life in his own hands. Question number 2, What if a christian woman has breast cancer, the doctor says that if she goes through chemo, surgery, and radiation, she has a chance of surviving, and she chooses not to go through the procedures and over a period of time she slowly dies. Does she go to heaven? If she opted out of trying to save her life, would that not count as suicide and does she go to heaven. Just because she wants to live what life she has left, as normal as possible, without the sickness from chemo, and spending hours in a doctors office, ultimately she took her own life into her own hands. I choose to believe that God's grace is far greater than any sin I could ever commit. I no longer live in fear of going to hell, of course that does not mean we do not have to suffer the consequences of our actions. The unfortunate consequence to this mans actions, is that he is not alive, and his kids are faced with an even deeper grief. Feel free to comment. I know it's a big topic to take in. I pray that my friend can find God's comfort within. She is so sad, and so heart broken. Please remember her in your prayers.