"The entrance of thy words giveth light (Psalm 119:130)."
Masturbation
When considering writing this article, a particular client came to mind. He is Catholic and spent an enormous amount of energy struggling with this issue.
This client made a determined effort to avoid masturbating. Then, after he again failed, he would lament over "relapsing." He was sure masturbation is a sin. He stated he could not sleep after masturbating! The Catholic Church teaches that masturbation is a sin.
He is not alone in his concerns. An example: Young people--ridden with guilt--are approaching their youth pastors and seeking guidance on this issue. So I will make it easy for you.
The Bible does say to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). And there are plenty of Scriptures that talk about the importance of living a holy life (e.g. 1 Peter 1:14-16). However, there are other Scriptures to be considered as well.
The Bible states that obeying Scripture involves only a light burden--not a heavy one (Matthew 11:28-30). In particular, consider this verse: "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well (Acts 15:28-29 NASB)."
There is nothing anywhere in Scripture that indicates that masturbation--in and of itself--is a sin. And it isn't.
However, there is one basic caveat. Remember, we are required to take all thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
My argument is this: Anything you are allowed to do in real life, you are allowed to fantasize about. You are allowed to get married and have sex. You can fantasize about the same thing. You are not allowed to rape someone. Neither are you allowed to fantasize about doing so. Aside from this basic rule, I wouldn't spend much time worrying about this.
Some additional precautions follow.
Pornography: Looking at pornography is a sin (Matthew 5:27-28). This sin is particularly damaging to marriages and families.
Sex outside of marriage is a sin (Acts 15:28-29). So is homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27) and bestiality (Leviticus 18:23).
Not disciplining your sexual fantasies can result in major problems. The Bible states: "A man will be commended according to his wisdom, But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised (Proverbs 12:8 NKJV)."
So that's it. If this subject has been of concern to you, I hope this article makes it possible for you to breathe a little easier.
