Lord knows we have been guilty of this and may we be aware of who and what we’re dealing with when approached by nonbelievers. Spiritual suicide is such a peculiar and fascinating term, it is a thought-provoking combination of words, indeed! I have found myself in such circumstances trying to explain subtleties, nuances, and God’s mysteries to people who cannot even acknowledge He exists. This paragraph from Spurgeon really got me thinking about the phrase, “the main things are the plain things” — may we not get too distracted by anything in providing the plain truth to others. May we not get too caught up in anything and potentially miss appreciating the main things ourselves.

“Some truths which it is hard to explain in words are simple enough in actual experience. There is no discrepancy between the truth that the sinner believes, and that his faith is wrought in him by the Holy Spirit. Only folly can lead men to puzzle themselves about plain matters while their souls are in danger. No man would refuse to enter a lifeboat because he did not know the specific gravity of bodies; neither would a starving man decline to eat till he understood the whole process of nutrition. If you, my reader, will not believe till you can understand all mysteries, you will never be saved at all; and if you allow self-invented difficulties to keep you from accepting pardon through your Lord and Saviour, you will perish in a condemnation which will be richly deserved. Do not commit spiritual suicide through a passion for discussing metaphysical subtleties.”

Excerpt From
All of Grace
Charles H. Spurgeon
https://books.apple.com/us/book/all-of-grace/id1014243511
This material may be protected by copyright.

even the bible encourages you to test spirits, so only an evil spirit would persecute you for "spiritual suicide". satan is a persecutor. you cant expect strongman demons to encourage a removal of unclean spirits. a man is a soul not a spirit. spirit is alleged to be what god is apart from man while the majority of spirits are not of god yet claim or pretend to be

this is why the whole world is deceived as mentioned in revelations, spiritual warfare.

This post was edited by lodd222 on Dec 13 2022 07:55am

Thank you for expounding on this topic. I seldom get replies to posts, so I certainly appreciate the effort in your reply.

As far as spiritual suicide is concerned, I see your reference of 1 John 4:1 and agree spirits should be tested. John 6:63 may provide a better idea on spiritual suicide; Proverbs 18:14, 1 Corinthians 2:14 and Hebrews 4:12, as well. There is the Spirit and spirit. Since the Spirit gives life and spirit is connected to life, the idea of spiritual suicide may be thought of as self-terminating the life which spirit provides. Obviously we cannot kill the Spirit but I think we are capable of destroying spirit with sin, or specifically as it relates to the paragraph from Spurgeon, we self-terminate spiritual life by rejecting Christ out of arrogance/laziness/apathy/etc in not understanding all of God’s mystery.

In addition to spiritual suicide and our own part in this, I agree there are other spiritual factors and beings involved: Satan, demons, warfare.

Thank you again for your reply. It had me looking up Bible verses specifically talking about spirit. Here is a great link, if you’d like to partake: https://www.openbible.info/topics/spirit