When it comes to the idea of sins committed during a period of psychosis, this topic is highly controversial. Some well-meaning Christians would like to eliminate all responsibility from the person in psychosis. Other Christians would like to lay full blame onto the person in psychosis. The former do what they do out of love and compassion for a mentally ill loved one, while the latter do what they do out of spite for the mentally ill person. Perhaps there will never be a consensus on this hotly debated topic, but in this blog, I shall do my best to tell you the conclusion I have drawn from my personal study of the Scriptures. However, I would like to say that this is a topic that Scripture is silent on. This means that anything I, or anyone else, say concerning this topic will be speculation. I believe my conclusion comes from the best exegesis of the Scriptures, but I could be wrong. The same could be said about anyone who disagrees with me too. None of us have perfect knowledge and so all we can do is strive to understand the Scriptures in the best way possible, while at the same time acknowledging our own human frailty. Another thing that I'd like to point out is that none of us, regardless of mental illness or not, are exempt from our guilt before the All-Wise and Holy God. As the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 3:23.
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
This means that every single human being on this earth is clearly guilty of sinning against God. As a matter of fact, none of us can claim to be without fault. As a result, we are all subject to being judged by God for our wickedness apart from Jesus Christ. As the Writer to the Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 9:27,
"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..."
Every single one of us, mental illness or not, will one day face the judgment of God. None of us will have an excuse before Him (Romans 1:18-20). This means that we cannot use our mental illnesses as an excuse for living a sinful lifestyle in rebellion against our Great King.
So, what does any of this have to do with those who are in states of severe psychosis? While I have established that there is no excuse for sin, I will attempt to explain how a mentally ill person will not be held accountable for what they do while in psychosis. However, this does not mean that they will never be held accountable for anything they say or do. I will make the case that while they are in a state of severe psychosis, they will not be held accountable for what they say and do because they are not aware of what they are saying and doing. I know this sounds like a strange, and possibly absurd argument, but please keep reading before you cast judgment on what I am saying. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 2:12-16,
"For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature, do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus"
Now, in this context, I understand that Paul is reiterating what he previously said in the first chapter of Romans that no man has an excuse before God. He is clearly telling us that all people have the Moral Law written on their hearts. I fully concur with this idea because it is evident. All people know right from wrong. As a matter of fact, the Moral Law argument is one of the strongest arguments for the existence of God because the Moral Law argument by necessity points to the Moral Law Giver (i.e. God). However, there is something concerning this text that I'd like you to notice. In the first couple of verses, notice how Paul says, "For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish without the law..."? He, then, goes on to say, "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified". These verses are clearly talking about people who are cognizant of what they are doing. What I mean by this is that for one to be held accountable before God, one must be cognizant of the fact that they are violating the Moral Law that is written on their hearts. This is why the Apostle Paul tells us in this text "They show that the work of the law is on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day..." How can their thoughts accuse or excuse them unless they are cognizant of their actions?
My point in all of this is to say that when someone is in a devastating psychosis, they are not always aware of what they are saying or doing. People in a psychotic state of mind say and do all manner of things that they are not even aware of consciously. For example, when I go full-blown manic, I may say things like "I am God" or that "Donald Trump is sending me messages in my head", but that does not mean that I truly believe those things. While I am in that state of psychosis, I am not aware of what I am doing or saying, even though I may appear to be conscious of my own actions. If we truly believe that God is compassionate and loving and that He understands us, then we must assume that He understands what the person in psychosis is going through. As the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 103:14,
"For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust"
God understands our frailties better than we do. This means that God even understands our mental illnesses better than we do. If we can show compassion and love toward those who are in psychosis, then how much more can the Everlasting Father show even more love and compassion toward those in severe psychosis? When we say that God will hold a mentally ill person accountable for what they do and say in a psychotic state of mind, then we are inevitably saying that God is not as loving and compassionate as we are and that is straight blasphemy. Again, this is not to say that God will never hold such a person accountable. Those of us with mental illnesses commit enough sins in our right minds for God to hold us accountable for, but when we are in Jesus Christ, we will never be condemned (Romans 8:1) because Christ has taken our condemnation upon Himself on the cross.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope this helps you to better understand mental illness better. God is everlasting in His love, mercy, and justice. To say that He would condemn someone for what they do in a psychotic state would undermine His love, mercy, and justice. It would not be loving or merciful of God to condemn a man for sins he commits while he is unaware of what he is doing and it would equally be unjust of Him to condemn the man for the same reason too. I am not willing to accuse God of committing an unjust or unloving judgment and this is why I cannot say that God will ever condemn such a man or woman who is not aware of what they are doing in a psychotic state of mind. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
"...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
This means that every single human being on this earth is clearly guilty of sinning against God. As a matter of fact, none of us can claim to be without fault. As a result, we are all subject to being judged by God for our wickedness apart from Jesus Christ. As the Writer to the Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 9:27,
"And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..."
Every single one of us, mental illness or not, will one day face the judgment of God. None of us will have an excuse before Him (Romans 1:18-20). This means that we cannot use our mental illnesses as an excuse for living a sinful lifestyle in rebellion against our Great King.
So, what does any of this have to do with those who are in states of severe psychosis? While I have established that there is no excuse for sin, I will attempt to explain how a mentally ill person will not be held accountable for what they do while in psychosis. However, this does not mean that they will never be held accountable for anything they say or do. I will make the case that while they are in a state of severe psychosis, they will not be held accountable for what they say and do because they are not aware of what they are saying and doing. I know this sounds like a strange, and possibly absurd argument, but please keep reading before you cast judgment on what I am saying. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 2:12-16,
"For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature, do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus"
Now, in this context, I understand that Paul is reiterating what he previously said in the first chapter of Romans that no man has an excuse before God. He is clearly telling us that all people have the Moral Law written on their hearts. I fully concur with this idea because it is evident. All people know right from wrong. As a matter of fact, the Moral Law argument is one of the strongest arguments for the existence of God because the Moral Law argument by necessity points to the Moral Law Giver (i.e. God). However, there is something concerning this text that I'd like you to notice. In the first couple of verses, notice how Paul says, "For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish without the law..."? He, then, goes on to say, "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified". These verses are clearly talking about people who are cognizant of what they are doing. What I mean by this is that for one to be held accountable before God, one must be cognizant of the fact that they are violating the Moral Law that is written on their hearts. This is why the Apostle Paul tells us in this text "They show that the work of the law is on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day..." How can their thoughts accuse or excuse them unless they are cognizant of their actions?
My point in all of this is to say that when someone is in a devastating psychosis, they are not always aware of what they are saying or doing. People in a psychotic state of mind say and do all manner of things that they are not even aware of consciously. For example, when I go full-blown manic, I may say things like "I am God" or that "Donald Trump is sending me messages in my head", but that does not mean that I truly believe those things. While I am in that state of psychosis, I am not aware of what I am doing or saying, even though I may appear to be conscious of my own actions. If we truly believe that God is compassionate and loving and that He understands us, then we must assume that He understands what the person in psychosis is going through. As the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 103:14,
"For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust"
God understands our frailties better than we do. This means that God even understands our mental illnesses better than we do. If we can show compassion and love toward those who are in psychosis, then how much more can the Everlasting Father show even more love and compassion toward those in severe psychosis? When we say that God will hold a mentally ill person accountable for what they do and say in a psychotic state of mind, then we are inevitably saying that God is not as loving and compassionate as we are and that is straight blasphemy. Again, this is not to say that God will never hold such a person accountable. Those of us with mental illnesses commit enough sins in our right minds for God to hold us accountable for, but when we are in Jesus Christ, we will never be condemned (Romans 8:1) because Christ has taken our condemnation upon Himself on the cross.
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope this helps you to better understand mental illness better. God is everlasting in His love, mercy, and justice. To say that He would condemn someone for what they do in a psychotic state would undermine His love, mercy, and justice. It would not be loving or merciful of God to condemn a man for sins he commits while he is unaware of what he is doing and it would equally be unjust of Him to condemn the man for the same reason too. I am not willing to accuse God of committing an unjust or unloving judgment and this is why I cannot say that God will ever condemn such a man or woman who is not aware of what they are doing in a psychotic state of mind. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all!
-David Lee Chu Sarchet
Christian Mental Health Advocate
Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website
I agree. Every believer will stand in front of God giving our account, good or bad, the bad will be burned as stubble. I believe that is applicable and can be considered also.
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