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12 Reasons Why Masturbation is Not The
Will of God
What’s wrong with masturbating? Everyone knows you won’t go blind from doing it. Estimates range from a low of 90% to a high of 99% of all men and 75% to 80% of all women masturbate. How can something which so many people do be wrong? Suffice it to say there is a lot of opinion in the world and in the church on the subject of masturbation. Christians are asking questions such as, “Is masturbation acceptable to God? Is it even the will of God? Isn’t masturbation God’s gift to singles to keep them from fornicating until they marry? Since there are no verses in the Bible specifically addressing the issue of masturbation, isn’t it left to each Christian to decide if it is right for him or her? Isn’t it an issue of personal liberty for Christians?” Here are my observations on this sexual practice:
Secrecy and Shame. Masturbation is done in private and in secret. It is shame producing to the masturbator. Anything that must be done in secret and produces shame is not the will of God. God intended sex to be a private practice done within the sanctity of marriage. He never intended sex to be a shame-producing behavior (Genesis 2:25).
The Majority is Wrong. Popularity or high percentages don’t equate to the will of God. The fact that a large percentage of people are practicing masturbation doesn’t make it right. Jesus said that a high percentage of human beings are on the broad road to destruction and that a small percentage will enter through the small gate to walk on the narrow way. The majority isn’t always right.
Biblical Principles are Compelling. Like many contemporary issues (marijuana, crack cocaine addiction, caffeine addiction, etc.) masturbation is not specifically mentioned in the Bible. Does an argument from silence, however, mean that God has provided no guidance and has no opinion on the issue? Hardly. Where scripture does not mention specific contemporary issues, good hermeneutics compel Christians to turn to the principles given in scripture which underlie our moral values and behaviors. Here are those Biblical principles:
1. It is Rooted in Lust. Masturbation is a behavior rooted in lustful thinking. Men and women don’t masturbate in a vacuum. All masturbators are thinking about something. Typically masturbators are visualizing either pornography viewed in the past or real or imagined sexual encounters with women or men. The Bible consistently condemns all lust and lustful thinking (Matthew 5:27,28, Romans 1:24).
2. Our Bodies Don’t Belong To Us. If we are married, our bodies don’t belong to us to do with as we please. Our bodies were bought by the Lord Jesus Christ and belong to Him or to our wives. They don’t belong to us (1 Corinthians 7:4).
3. It is Either Adultery or Fornication. Adultery is defined as having sex with someone other than one’s spouse while married. Fornication is sex between unmarried people. Masturbation is self-sex. Because the masturbator is having sex with himself rather than his spouse he is committing adultery with himself. All forms of adultery and fornication are sinful (Hebrew 13:4).
4. It Renders Us Unclean. Masturbation involves the discharge of seminal fluid. From the Mosaic Law to discharge semen is to render oneself unclean before God and unfit for worship (Leviticus 15:16).
5. Sex Was Designed To Bond Husbands and Wives. The Biblical teaching is that all sexual intercourse (including emission of semen) is to be between a husband and wife within the committed relationship of marriage. Sex bonds husbands and wives (Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 7:3). Every instance of healthy, godly sexuality mentioned in the Bible is in the context of a heterosexual, covenant marriage relationship. All sexual energy is to be directed toward one’s spouse in the context of a covenant marriage.
6. It Defrauds a Wife of What Belongs To Her. Masturbation defrauds a wife of her husband’s body and the sexual relationship which belongs to her (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).
7. It is Lack of Self-Control. God commends self-control for singles and warns marrieds to engage in sexual relations with their wives because of their lack of self-control (Galatians 5:23, 1 Corinthians 7:5). Masturbation by singles or marrieds is self-sex, not self-control.
8. It Deprives a Man of Holiness. Sanctification (holiness) involves abstaining from all sexual immorality. Masturbation, being sexual immorality and impurity, deprives us of sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3,7).
9. It Produces False Intimacy. Masturbation can never provide true intimacy with God or, if married, our spouse. It is an act of selfishness that only produces false intimacy (Genesis 2:24).
10. It is a Sin Against One’s Own Body. Because masturbation is a form of sexual immorality and all sexual immorality is a sin against one’s own body (1 Corinthians 6:18), therefore, masturbation is a sin against one’s own body.
11. It Can Become Our Master. Masturbation can become an addictive practice and gain mastery over us so that we cannot quit. We try to quit but fail repeatedly. We find ourselves in bondage to this addictive behavior and it becomes our master (1 Corinthians 6:12). Nothing and no one but Jesus Christ is to be our Master and Lord (Matthew 23:8, John 13:13, Ephesians 6:9)
12. It Keeps Us “High.” Masturbation causes the flow of the brain chemical dopamine. The release of dopamine creates a “high” for the masturbator. Because of the progressive nature of sexual addiction, increased levels of masturbation are required to achieve the same dopamine “high.” Only the complete cessation of masturbation will allow dopamine levels in the brain to return to the normal range. |
