Is masturbation a sin?
Is Masturbation a sin?
According to Matt Slick, “The Bible did not discuss masturbation at all.” This seems a little odd since it is such a strong and prevalent human event. According to Stastistic in the U.S., 90% of adolescent males and 46% of female masturbates in an average two to three times a week. Due to this prevalence sometimes we are not sure if masturbation is really a sin considering that many teenagers like me do the act. Added by Matt Slick, “Masturbation is not specifically declared to be sinful. Nevertheless, we must be cautious to pronounce something to be sinful or not sinful when God has not discussed it”. Therefore, we have to derive principles from Holy scripture with regards to the sexual issues and see if we can wisely apply them to the subject of masturbation.
First of all, sex was created by God for procreative purposes, physical enjoyment, and the demonstration of intimacy between a husband and a wife. In this context, the sexual act is intended to occur in a healthy marriage relationship between husband and wife in purity and holiness. In contrast to this, masturbation is the self-stimulation to the point of sexual release without the gifting of a spouse. It would seem that masturbation is a denial of the sexual design of God for couples. But, is it sinful? Again, answering this question is difficult because it is not stipulated in the bible directly that masturbation is a sin. Nevertheless, there is the principle of purity that is obviously true. Does masturbation fall under the category of purity? I think it is and has an impact on the principle of purity.
If masturbation involves sexual fantasies and/or pornography, then it is certainly not pure and is very sinful. The Bible clearly teaches that our minds are as important to God as our bodies are because it is the temple where the holy spirit lodge and thus considered sacred and in that we were to remain pure in both. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said,
According to Matt Slick, “The Bible did not discuss masturbation at all.” This seems a little odd since it is such a strong and prevalent human event. According to Stastistic in the U.S., 90% of adolescent males and 46% of female masturbates in an average two to three times a week. Due to this prevalence sometimes we are not sure if masturbation is really a sin considering that many teenagers like me do the act. Added by Matt Slick, “Masturbation is not specifically declared to be sinful. Nevertheless, we must be cautious to pronounce something to be sinful or not sinful when God has not discussed it”. Therefore, we have to derive principles from Holy scripture with regards to the sexual issues and see if we can wisely apply them to the subject of masturbation.
First of all, sex was created by God for procreative purposes, physical enjoyment, and the demonstration of intimacy between a husband and a wife. In this context, the sexual act is intended to occur in a healthy marriage relationship between husband and wife in purity and holiness. In contrast to this, masturbation is the self-stimulation to the point of sexual release without the gifting of a spouse. It would seem that masturbation is a denial of the sexual design of God for couples. But, is it sinful? Again, answering this question is difficult because it is not stipulated in the bible directly that masturbation is a sin. Nevertheless, there is the principle of purity that is obviously true. Does masturbation fall under the category of purity? I think it is and has an impact on the principle of purity.
If masturbation involves sexual fantasies and/or pornography, then it is certainly not pure and is very sinful. The Bible clearly teaches that our minds are as important to God as our bodies are because it is the temple where the holy spirit lodge and thus considered sacred and in that we were to remain pure in both. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said,