Is Masturbation Wrong?

[Eunii]

I think that point that has been made and so overlooked, is that sometimes we want to call what is sin as not being sin. When I first heard about Christians accepting affirming theology, it was presented as that the verses that called homosexuality sin, no longer applied to us today. I was afraid that if I accept this theology that I would be headed down a path where nothing was called sin anymore. I knew that my conscience would not allow me to accept that kind of teaching. Now, that I have read Homosexianity, I know that Pastor's intention was that sin is still sin, but that homosexuality is not a sin. We must tread carefully so that other Christians are not of the same opinion that I used to have about "gay Christians". We must still recognize sin as being sin. Just because we have come to understand that the church's view of homosexuality has been twisted out of the original context does not give us a license to justify other sins.

This true, and I wasn't justifying any sin. Masturbation was never listed as being a sin when taken in context, and lust was never explicitly stated to even be involved. Just because some people involve lust with it, doesn't make it any more a sin than food is just because someone eats too much.

-- August 28th, 2009, 4:40 am --

My intent was not to attack; although, after reading back over my reply, I can certainly see how it came across that way. It's just that I have deep-seated concerns with how so many people in the gay Christian community minimize or dismiss Scripture or its usage in formulating doctrine, and how many also classify practically any and every conclusion drawn from Scripture as judging if it identifies or makes a distinction between right or wrong, sin or not sin.

That's particularly a concern for me because one of my missions is to provide a GLBT community where Scripture is held in high regard. One of the benefits of that mission is that, prayerfully, even straight people will come to understand that one doesn't have to dismiss Scripture or lose any sense of right and wrong in order to embrace affirming theology. However, if people were to read through discussions like this, and see the prevalence of notions that things like lust are basically viewed as perfectly natural and acceptable, I think it does perceptive damage to us as a whole. Shoot, even some gay Christians would be put off by such notions.

I'm also concerned with the overuse of "judging". I think we should be careful not to classify any and every belief in right or wrong as judging. It does a disservice to everyone involved, especially to those who may actually start to believe that any designation of sinful behavior as such is equal to passing judgment. That couldn't be further from the truth; yet, I see that mindset in a great percentage of the gay Christian community, and that concerns me.

I will say, however, that I wasn't aware that you were being sarcastic in your post. It's difficult to read printed text and still pick up on the intent of a person's words, unless it's stated plainly. Not being able to see your expression or hear the intonations of your voice made it easy to misinterpret your point. That being the case above, my apologies; but I assure you that my intention was not to attack. Indeed, my response was much more aimed at that general mentality in the gay Christian community, not at you in particular (although it was a response to a statement you made).

[TotallyTransparent]

Very interesting topic to try and look at. I think that so many of us especially males have a hard time saying yes or not on if it is wrong for us. However, I do think we have to look at the full picture and not just certain biblical references or just medical references. First you have to also answer so many questions within this one question.

Can you masturbate without lusting? I have heard people say that they can, however part of me is thinking what is the point? I mean you masturbate to live out a fantasy a good chunk of the time. So if you are going to be living out your fantasy in your mind you are going to be lusting after the person/s that you want to have around you in the fantasy. So, on this note I would say that no you can not masturbate without lusting.

Is it okay if you do it while lusting after you partner/bf? That is another hard question to answer. I mean why would you need to if you have them around? Why would you need to do it at all if you had a bf or partner? I understand the times that you are going to be apart beyond your control such as business trips or family emergencies, but do you need to do it if they are not there? I would look at the deeper root of why you feel like you have to do it.

Are you maybe addicted to it and so you can not think of maybe stopping because you are doing it too much or because you are hurting your relationships. This is where for me I know that masturbation is wrong for me. It is wrong for me because I am someone that is and have been addicted to this issue. I have had many relationships lost, job issues, relationship hardships, loss of friends, loss of a lot of things all because of my desire to please the flesh and not please the Spirit.

I think you have to really get down to the root of why you are doing it, what it is that you are really trying to fill that you cant fill any other way in your life besides by masturbation. God has allowed our bodies to deal with not doing the act of masturbation and so why don't we allow our bodies to do it?

That is just a little bit on my views......

In His Grasp
Justin

[paisdulo316]

I want to tell you all a story, maybe you have heard it before maybe not but here goes.  I belive the lesson it teaches is of great importance.

There was this man.  Jesus came to his mansion to stay inside.  The man welcomed Jesus and showed Him to His room.  He told Jesus that He has total reign of this room.  This is where Jesus will be confined.  That night when the man was sleeping he was awoken to screaming and bashing on his door.  So he went to open the door.  To his horror there as he opened the door stood 3 mighty demons and a big struggle ensued, the man pushed and used all his strength and manged to get the door closed, safety.  The next morning the man went to Jesus and said where were you last night i was almost overcome?   Jesus replied I would have been right there with you but you have confined me to this one room.  The man then gave Jesus free reign of his entire mansion.  That night again the banging on the door and the man got up again.  Saying , why is Jesus not doing anything.  Why Why?  Then to his suprise he sees Jesus open the door and face the mighty demons.  There before Jesus and this man now stood 6 mighty Demons.  When they saw the Lord Jesus Christ they were shocked and terrified and left.  Sisters and brothers this is how we need to live our lives.  We must have Jesus in all parts of our lives.  Including the sexual part.  Now what im going to say may shock some of you but i believe thats its important.

Firstly the church has a doctrine that masturbation is sinfull.  The church has another twisted deceptional doctrine that homosexuals are going to hell.  The church has a doctrine for everything.  Lets learn a lesson from Jesus.  What did he say when he told the parable of the banquet.  I tell you that prostitutes and tax collectors and entering the Kingdom of God before the religious leaders.  Wow. That was Jesus getting our attention.  There are many people who claim authority of Jesus Christ to judge and point fingers.  They should learn that if somebody hates another person for any reason they are not able to love God.  Back to the topic

Is Masturbation a sin?  Firstly God gives us the gift of masturbation to express our sexual desires.  The bible never ever condems masturbation.  I beleive that masturbation is not a sin and i also believe that Pornography is not a sin. Let me explain why.  This is my oppinion based on biblical teachings.

Is Pornography a Sin According to Scripture? ( This is when you dig deep into scripture we find the teachings of man are not of God.  Here is a very interesting sermon i found and it really makes you question church doctrines.

the term adultery. Webster's dictionary says adultery is: "voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse." Now, that is the world's definition of adultery. What is the Bible's definition of adultery? Well, according to Strong's Concordance (along with virtually all others): "have unlawful intercourse with another's wife."

What is "lusting"? Most of you have this definition coming to mind "any sexual thought for the opposite sex". And yes, I used to have the same definition, until, again, I actually studied scripture and greek to decipher what the term actually meant fully.

The term means to "covet" or "desire with intent to steal" plain and simple. Do you remember which of the Ten Commandments mentions this? Yes, it is the 10th commandment. So, Jesus was quoting the "thou shalt not covet .. thy neighbor's wife". Why haven't you ever heard that before? Doesn't that make a lot of sense, seeing God is the same, yesterday, today and forever? So, quite literally, Jesus first stated the 7th commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery", then he explained the theology behind the 7th commandment with the 10th commandment, "Thou shalt not covet .. thy neighbor's wife". He was showing how the people of the day were not looking at the intent behind the 7th commandment.

"woman" within the passage. So, I did some investigating and not long after, I realized that the term as understood in greek, applies as either "young wife", "woman" or "wife" as you can see within Strong's Concordance again: King James Word Usage - Total: 221 women 129, wife 92. So, it is saying that almost 50% of the time, the greek term is denoted as "wife" instead of "woman". And, logically, the verse would only make sense if it meant "wife", seeing that the term adultery means: "stealing another man's wife, be it through sex or some other means". You see, adultery doesn't just mean sex, it can mean also stealing someone else's wife. Could be you think she is ideal in many other ways other than sexually and you 'covet' her and bring forth the sin by taking her (something not rightfully yours).

let me just sum it up and then prove it. If you look at the greek term in Matthew 5:27-28 for "lust" you will discover that the term requires an "decision" to be a component of it. And, I am guessing you have heard this definition, but really have not considered its true meaning. Lust most properly translated in the verse means to "earnestly desire". Now, here's something you might not have thought about. What does "earnestly" mean? Well, if you look it up in the dictionary, you will discover it means: 1. serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous: an earnest worker. 4 full seriousness, as of intention or purpose: to speak in earnest." Now, ask yourself, are you being serious in intention to desire a woman when you look at her walking down the road? The answer to that is no. When are you serious in your desire? It would be when you are wanting to act on that desire and take her for yourself. So, to sum it up, Jesus is saying, if you are thinking about stealing someones wife or seriously thinking about trying to get her in bed(literally), you have already sinned. Meaning, you literally make a decision in your heart to be in her life in some way, shape, or form. We are not talking about undressing her in your mind (that is potential temptation, not a decision to take her).

In the Old Testament, it is made clear that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. Hebrews 9:22 & Leviticus 17:11. So, obviously, if something is a sin, God will require shedding of blood within the Old Testament to cleanse the person of their sin. And likewise, if no shedding of blood is required, it is not a sin. Of ALL the Ten Commandments, only one of them does not require shedding of blood. The Tenth Commandment. All the other commandments have examples in scripture where the person was either stoned to death or had to have some sort of sacrifice to pay for his sin

So, revisiting Jesus' statement, we see that woman is "wife", lust is "covet" and adultery is "unlawful intercourse with another man's wife". It makes it very clear, he is quoting the 7th and 10th commandment and if you think about it, it makes sense. Jesus did not just make things up. He quoted the only scripture of his time, namely, the Old Testament. We seem to forget such things:

"Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery (unlawful intercourse w/ another man's wife): 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh(sets mind upon) on a woman(wife) to lust(desire or covet) after her hath committed adultery (unlawful intercourse w/ another man's wife) with her already in his heart."

to quote James 1:15 in the New Testament, "1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." As you can even see here, it is clear that lust has to "conceive" to bring forth sin. If it was "lust" alone that was the sin, the scripture would have likely said this instead: Lust bringeth forth sin and when it is finished, brings forth death. But, it doesn't say that, does it?

Back to the topic of "lust", or better translated "covet". I want to give you a few examples to show you how distorted the church's understanding of "lust" is. These will show you through internal inspection a contradiction within the common understanding of the term lust. Look at Exodus 20 again. Now, notice the 10th Commandment again. Remember, God is the same yesterday, today and forever, yes? Also, remember that Jesus is paraphrasing this commandment in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:27-28. OK, notice in the 10th Commandment all the other items mentioned other than another man's wife. The total list includes: house, wife, manservant, maidservant, ox and ass. What is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of all of these things? Materialism? Keeping up with the Jones?

Isn't it interesting when you look at that, you do not think pornography, do you? You think, rather, of people being selfish, being jealous and wanting more and taking what belongs to others. Atleast, that is the first thing that comes to my mind.

Why would God create us with sexual desires that are not good.  The church has played God on earth for to long and when one person reads scriptures they find other things.  they find that God is the Almighty and that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh.  The word was made flesh.   Jesus never ever condemed gay people.  The church made that doctrine.  Do you know that is was a sin to even look at your own wife and have sexual contact with her many years ago.  The church is not the church of Jesus Christ.  Learn from Jesus teachings He speaks the truth, Watch how the wolves in sheeps clothing come out to make their own laws and to get rich quick.  I have seen adds from bible semonors that sell holy water for $15 a bottle, buy it get saved.  What rubbish.  Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved and learn from one important thing Jesus said that the doctrines of man made things are not righteous in Gods eyes.   The true church is the ones who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and that take up the cross and walk in Jesus path.  Your lamp is a light to my feet.  

Do not let church doctrines take the word of God and cover it in their poison coated pills.  There are many.  Just ask the Holy spirit to guide you.  Now im not saying go spend your entire day looking at porn and jerking off, no not at all.  My advice is to again include Jesus Christ in all parts of your life including the sexual part, before sex say a prayer to God and thank Him for the Gift of Sexual desire and for making you how you are and pray in Jesus name, ask God to bless you and let the Holy spirit be with you always.  Do not let satan sow guilt into your heads dont let him sow seeds to make you feel dirty after sex, he wants you to feel like that because Gods gift to us is sexuality its sexual desire it is the greatest gift God gave us AFTER HE gave us Jesus Christ.  Jesus comes first.

If you going to jerk off then pray to the Lord Jesus and thank Him and make him part of all your life.  Dont become addicted to porn.  Use the gift of the Holy spirit of self control.  As God to shower you in it.  Really i cant say this enough.  The people that use Jesus words as swords they are cutting their own throats.  They are judging and we know what the Lord says about that.

In Jesus name
Amen

[Sozo]

Welcome to GCF. Very interesting post, thank you for sharing.

[LoveIsMarching]

I would say that it's healthy. I think where it becomes a problem is when it becomes the focal point of your day/week/etc. If you're preoccupied and constantly thinking about sex and masturbation, then there's probably a deeper issue.