I was asked about masturbation and what I thought of it. He then offered up, “Why is masturbation classed as a sin?” “I’m on Christian sites where people are saying that it’s all wrong and that you shouldn’t being stuff like that but surely God wants us to love either with a partner or ourself.” And finally, he said, “I just don’t want to do anything god doesn’t like but on the quite side we all have needs.” You can have a yearning to be Godly, yet deep down there is a knowledge that there is something not quite right about masturbation. I said that I wanted to give the person a real and considered response, and not just an off-the-cuff remark. So I told him that I would respond in a week.
Here are my thoughts on the matter.
Some say that the Bible does not mention masturbation or self-gratification or “solo sex,” as it’s sometimes called. They say that it is silent on the subject and that the Bible does not state whether or not masturbation is a sin.
Some people take the view that masturbation is a lustful act and is always wrong, but others question this, believing that it involves a normal bodily function and has nothing to do with sin.
Beginning with the Old Testament, a passage frequently associated with masturbation is the story of Onan in Genesis 38:9–10. The passage says, “Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.``
From this passage we can see that:
Onan had a duty to perform, and he failed in his duty.
On multiple occasions, he slept with Tamar, but he deceived her.
The Lord saw his actions as evil.
Onan was asked to have sex with a person, to have a relationship with her, not to have solo sex.
Some interpret this passage to say that “spilling seed”—the squandering of semen—is a sin. However, that is not what the passage is saying. God condemned Onan not for “spilling his seed” but because Onan was rebellious. Onan refused to fulfill his duty to provide an heir for his deceased brother. The passage is not about masturbation but about fulfilling a family obligation. Here, Onan was having sexual intercourse for the pleasure of it and effectively was simply using Tamar as an object, not as a person. Tamar would have been feeling despondent just as Hannah was when she was childless. 1 Sam 1 states, “In her deep anguish, Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life.” Tamar was childless when it was taboo to be childless, and here Onan was completely unwilling to come to Tamar’s help. In fact, Onan found sexual pleasure at the expense of Tamar.
A second passage sometimes used as evidence that masturbation is a sin is Matthew 5:27–30, which says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus speaks against having lustful thoughts and then says, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” While there is often a connection between lustful thoughts and masturbation, it is unlikely that Jesus was alluding to the specific sin of masturbation in this passage.
Though the Bible nowhere explicitly addresses masturbation, it does outline the purpose of sex. According to 1 Corinthians 7:2–5, “Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” Implicit in this passage are the following truths:
- God’s plan for sex requires a relationship, namely, that of a husband and wife. Masturbation is sex disconnected from any relationship as it is carried out by a single person
- Foundational to God’s plan for sex is giving one’s body to another. The husband gives his body to his wife, and vice versa. But masturbation is keeping one’s body to oneself, and lastly
- The solution to a time of deprivation is to “come together.” Masturbation is done alone, not together.
Corinthians 7:9 identifies the proper outlet for single people who struggle with sexual desire: “If they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” Paul suggests that self-control is the best avenue. To those singles who lack self-control, Paul does not say, “Let them masturbate”; he says, “Let them marry.” Again, marriage is the God-given outlet for sexual yearnings.
Those who believe that masturbation has no moral or ethical importance argue that masturbation is a “need” akin to the need to eat or the need to scratch an itch. However, the Bible never presents sexual fulfillment as a need. On the contrary, Paul says to the unmarried, “It’s better to stay unmarried” (1 Corinthians 7:8, NLT).
Certain actions often associated with masturbation are sinful and should be dealt with lustful thoughts, inappropriate sexual stimulation, and pornography use, for example. If these problems are tackled, masturbation becomes less of a temptation. Many people struggle with guilt concerning masturbation, when, in reality, they would be better off repenting of the sins that lead them to masturbate.
So, is masturbation a sin? The Bible does not directly answer this question, but there are some biblical principles to apply:
(1) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If we cannot give God glory for something, we should not do it.
(2) “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). If we are not fully convinced that an activity is honouring God, then it is a sin.
(3) “I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Christians have a responsibility to avoid anything that might enslave them.
(4) “I discipline my body and keep it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Self-denial is difficult, but self-discipline is worth it.
(5) “The fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Masturbation is almost always a sign of a lack of self-control.
(6) Do “not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:16–17). We are called to self-denial, not to self-gratification.
These truths should have an impact on what we do with our bodies. In light of the above principles, it is very doubtful that masturbation can be a God-honouring activity.
On the basis that masturbation is not God-honouring, then what does it mean for us today? Well, since this affects Christian and non-Christian men alike and to a lesser degree women, this affects us all.
Masturbation is the result of lusting after a person sexually, probably viewing a naked person online or in a magazine. It is like an addiction, it is very hard to stop, and once we view the material then it becomes compelling viewing, and this leads to masturbation. The two go hand in hand.
But does that mean we give up attempting to stop masturbating and accept that we are powerless to do anything about it? If the gospel has any meaning then surely there has to be a positive result. If the gospel means anything then surely God will give us a path to a peaceful spirit, and a clear conscience. It's like an addition, a kind of slavery but Christ came to set us free! Paul told the Church in Corinth, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Paul is clearly stating that there should be a behaviour change. Before Christ, yes, masturbation may have been a feature in our lives but now we are Christians, our old self, the non-Christian self has gone, and the new self excludes masturbating.
Since masturbating is not God-honouring, it is a sinful action, then we can hold onto God’s promise to us when Paul said, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” God not only says that masturbating is wrong, but he also gives us a way out from yielding to temptation. So the question is this? How does God provide a way out so that we can not sin? What is the way out?
Last Sunday was Pentecost. It was the day we celebrated the birth of the church. It was the day we celebrated the coming down of the Holy Spirit. If we look at Mark 1, and the beginning of Jesus' ministry we notice three things:
Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan and the Holy Spirit came down onto Jesus.
Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit and there he was tempted by Satan.
Jesus used the words of scripture to resist Satan.
After he successfully resisted Satan’s temptation, we see Jesus began to preach and heal many; Mark records, “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases.”
What does that mean for us? Simply this, just as the Son of Man, the fully human Jesus Christ, received the Holy Spirit, we too have the Holy Spirit, if we are born again. Just as Jesus resisted Satan through the use of scripture, we too can use the double-edged sword, the Word of God to resist the devil. James confirmed this by writing, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” If we submit to God’s will for us, then we will see Satan’s temptation for what it is:
A complete distraction from our walk with God.
Satan is trying to kill our ministry and make us ineffective for God.
Lastly, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Bible records; “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being”. We are fighting a battle here, not against other people but a spiritual battle that wants us to be ineffective. But in Christ, we can be victorious. Through the Holy Spirit, we can overcome Satan’s conniving schemes. We can overcome the temptation, and have a clean conscience and an effective ministry.
How often do we sin, and in this case masturbate, then feel completely guilty of doing that, feeling completely useless? The third thing we saw with Jesus was that after he resisted the devil, he healed many. For us we sin then we think we are useless to God. But that is simply Satan attacking us when we are down. We are not useless, we are sinners but sinners who are capable of many wonderful works. Jesus said that; “...whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” We can do greater works than Jesus because he went to Father God so that the Holy Spirit can come to us. Because we have the Holy Spirit in us we can resist the devil, resist the temptation of masturbating, and lead a successful ministry in God’s service.
