In June of this year, the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) adopted an official resolution entitled, “On Assisted Suicide and the Sanctity of Human Life.”
This resolution begins as follows:
“WHEREAS, The Bible teaches that God, the Author of life, created all human beings in his image and declares human life to be sacred and worthy of protection from conception until natural death (Genesis 1:26-27; Exodus 20:13; Job 14:5; Psalm 139:13,16; Jeremiah 1:5; Acts 17:28; James 3:9) …”
The SBC is not the only religious denomination to make an official statement on this appalling issue.
The Missouri Synod Lutheran Church (LCMS) has maintained its opposition since its 1995 convention where it stated,
“[assisted suicide is] an affront to the Lord, who gives life…”
Back in 2011, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops signed the document entitled, “Live Each Day with Dignity: A Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide.”
In 2025, The OCA’s (Orthodox Church in America) Metropolitan Tikhon stated,
“[human life] from conception to natural death, is sacred…”
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOARCH) also officially rejects assisted suicide.
The Assemblies of God (USA) drafted an official position paper entitled, “ Sanctity of Human Life: Suicide and Euthanasia.” This paper directly addresses assisted suicide as a violation of the sanctity of human life.
The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has an official statement on the topic as well. Adopted in 1988, the language is explicit:
“Euthanasia, or ‘mercy-killing’ of a patient by a physician or by anyone else, including the patient himself (suicide) is murder.”
In 2022, EV Free Church’s Executive Director Greg Strand wrote an official statement that affirms the sanctity of all human life “from conception to death.”
Perhaps most striking of all, even the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church, both of which support abortion rights and permit same-sex marriage, have statements opposing the intentional taking of human life to relieve suffering.
The United Medhodist Church statement plainly states,
“The Church opposes assisted suicide and euthanasia.”
The Episcopal Church adopted a resolution in 1994, stating:
“It is morally wrong and unacceptable to intentionally take a human life in order to relieve the suffering caused by incurable illness.”
The culture of death is alive and well in our culture, and yet Christ has called the Church to be the ones opposing evil. Our Lord’s Word in Matthew 16:18 states,
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
If you pay close attention to the wording and interpretation of this verse, Christ is making a strong statement: that the Church is to be on the offensive and that evil is to be on the defensive. Evil appears to be winning, yet, in the final scope of time, evil will not prevail. The Bible reveals that evil loses in the end. It’s gates will be broken and conquered. There’s hope! Praise God!
Now, more than ever, our churches must be places of truth and clarity. We must take a stand for what is right, moral, and just. We are fighting a spiritual battle and must be ready to engage. We are called to be faithful, and to “overcome evil with good.” (Romans 21:12)
God calls His followers to return to Him and His Word—to repent for staying silent against the culture’s moral compromise, and to boldly speak His Truth to a desperate world. If your church does not have an official statement on the Sanctity of Human Life, as it relates to abortion and assisted suicide, now is the time.
“Unless the Church flatulent becomes the Church militant,
it will become the Church irrelevant…
We need to learn to be a threat to evil again.”
~Seth Gruber, The White Rose Resistance
Read IFI’s statement on our “About” page.
