Is Masturbation a sin?

[Cearbhall]

N
this is one dorky question ! do you have no common sense? well it appears you do not.
O! oh NO! pooping is good for you ,

I was joking. I knew exactly what you were trying to say. I just decided to use humor to point out the logical flaw.

 

[RDKirk]

So, anything that gives pleasure must be avoided by a Christian, lest it lead him into sin...
is that how you read these verses?

I clearly stated in a succinct sentence how I read those verses.

 

[StephanieSomer]

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid!
Know ye not that to whomever ye yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants ye become whom ye obey, whether of sin which leads unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

So what do you make of that? A pterodactyl? Physical urges--any physical urges, including the urge to touch--become sinful for a Christian when he allows them to control his decisions.

Obviously, it is against your convictions, and since it is, this verse does apply, to YOU. However, there is absolutely nothing in those verses related to masturbation. So, those verses could ONLY apply to masturbation with those who don't possess the faith to do such an act. Please be honest enough to admit that there is no clear condemnation of masturbation. All there is are verses which would apply only to those whose convictions disallow it, as mine do. But, to hold one's own convictions with the authority of Scripture and teach others that your convictions are Scriptural truth, is an abject lie. I will hold no one to my convictions, only to the explicit truth of Scripture. When we fail to differentiate between Scripture and conviction, we make ourselves into an authority in the place of God. That is idolatry.

 

[TheBarrd]

Obviously, it is against your convictions, and since it is, this verse does apply, to YOU. However, there is absolutely nothing in those verses related to masturbation. So, those verses could ONLY apply to masturbation with those who don't possess the faith to do such an act. Please be honest enough to admit that there is no clear condemnation of masturbation. All there is are verses which would apply only to those whose convictions disallow it, as mine do. But, to hold one's own convictions with the authority of Scripture and teach others that your convictions are Scriptural truth, is an abject lie. I will hold no one to my convictions, only to the explicit truth of Scripture. When we fail to differentiate between Scripture and conviction, we make ourselves into an authority in the place of God. That is idolatry.

Once again, you amaze me.

 

[onlyTruth]

Some Christians will tell you that it's only a sin if you're committing "adultery in the heart" by lusting after another person. Others will tell you that sexual pleasure is a sin when it's not open to creating life. Still others will tell you that there's nothing wrong with it. There's no one answer.

But there is one answer in the eyes of God. It is our job to find out what God's answer is.

If you just leave it at that and say that everyone has a different answer so therefore we can choose which one to believe is lazy way out and I fear for your soul.

 

[Paul of Eugene OR]

And if, for those years you are still single before you get married, those urges are so distracting and intense you find a way to shut them down so you do not have to M to deal with them; and then when you DO get married you find you cannot turn them back on; how much does THAT take away from your marriage partner?

So how often does that happen?

 

[Dave-W]

current law doesn't condemn pooping in your neighbors yard either

Clearly you do not live in the Democratic People's Republic of Maryland or Montgomery County. That is WAAAAAY against the law here.

 

[Dave-W]

So how often does that happen?

I do not know. But it happened with my wife and after 37 years of marriage, she still struggles with keeping it on. She also has noted that several other things got turned off at the same time that she was not even aware of.

If you are interested in 'how often,' I would suggest you contact a guy named Paul Byerly who is site owner of themarriagebed.com. He has all kinds of sex related stats.

 

[TheBarrd]

Clearly you do not live in the Democratic People's Republic of Maryland or Montgomery County. That is WAAAAAY against the law here.

It's against the law in Alabama, I'm pretty sure...

 

[Chicken Little]

Some Christians will tell you that it's only a sin if you're committing "adultery in the heart" by lusting after another person. Others will tell you that sexual pleasure is a sin when it's not open to creating life. Still others will tell you that there's nothing wrong with it. There's no one answer.

OH . yuck.. they are revealing their heart and their convictions from their personal relationship to Jesus their king and his spirit's dealings .. you mock peoples relationship with God and his spirit working in them . I think that is some of those special kind of sins . I won't help you guys do that bye!

 

[Chicken Little]

But there is one answer in the eyes of God. It is our job to find out what God's answer is.

If you just leave it at that and say that everyone has a different answer so therefore we can choose which one to believe is lazy way out and I fear for your soul.

religion isn't the way , He is. religion can not make you new! it can only sprinkle the old, prepare it for death and bury it . and the old isn't going to be saved no matter what.

 

[Tellastory]

Many would answer that they have done so, and found it not to be sin. I have no answer for such a one.
Have you?

Ask them to explain what uncleanness is when it is listed as a work of the flesh and among the sex sins then before going off to those other kinds of works of the flesh.

Some will say that fornication is just referring to prostitution so that they can continue to have sex before marriage, but they are still sinning in God's eye.

I don't think He meant for us to go peering into other people's bedroom windows to see whether they are masturbating or not.
I have always thought of sin as something that causes harm.
I can't see the sin in masturbation.

Whatever feeds the lust is what a believer is sowing towards and will reap corruption since God is not mocked and the infirmity that is in the flesh has been mentioned in the scripture in the N.T. by Paul as something to bring under submission along with our sinful thoughts to think on good things with His help.

And I'm not about to go around asking people whether they touch or not, in order that I may "correct" them.

If the "believers" go around telling people what they are doing in their sinful lifetsyle, then you are obligated to correct them in Christ's love and with His help.

So, let me get this straight. If you find out that your brother or sister in Christ is masturbating, and he or she tells you to mind your own business, you will announce it in front of the entire church?
And what do you expect would happen next?

I would say that the brother or sister cannot tell me to mind my own business if they are making it publicly known AND teaching others that it is okay. Jesus taught His disciples to make disciples of others as they too are to make disciples of others.

Are you really comparing masturbation to having sex with your stepmom?

The example is given about judging one another in correcting one another to the point of excommunication if they do not "repent". You were insinuating in previous replies that you believed we are not supposed to judge any one.

Frankly, I think you are creating a Tempest in a Teapot....or making Much Ado About Nothing....

And what are you doing or attempting to do here with a reply like this? Judging me as in correcting me by telling me not to correct others? Kind of a conundrum, isn't it?

What do you do when your son gets to "that age", and suddenly starts spending hours "combing his hair"??

Time to talk about the birds & the bees and how much we need Jesus as our Good Shepherd to follow Him and not run the way the world runs.

Believe it or not, christian "fornicators" will see christian masturbaters that are trying to correct them from fornication, will say to the christian masturbaters, "Was masturbation good enough for you?" in a sarcastic manner as if God does not really expect us to control our urges but just give in to them since God must made us that way.

It is a war of principality in wrestling with dark forces in the heavenly realm as there are "unclean spirits" about as mentioned several times in the scripture in the N.T. Do we really need to side step this issue on account that mankind used a different word today of masturbation from what the Bible used uncleanness for, back in the Biblical day?

But only God can help them to see the truth, but if they are blinded to it, and they go around making it publicly known, then the discipline of discipleship needs to be done.

 

[Tellastory]

To a degree, since no such verse exists anywhere in scripture.

But OTOH, it is not sarcastic since I am trying to get the poster to search the scriptures for them selves to try and find it. Then perhaps they will realize their position has no basis in scripture.

So when someone use the excuse that the word "homosexuality" is found nowhere in the Bible, it is okay?

And when someone claims that fornication is just referring to prostitution so that it is okay to have sex before marriage? What do you say to then?

You can find verses that describes the act of uncleanness and there is no way masturbation can escape that as "not referring" to that, especially when we are instructed to bring under submission the infirmity in the flesh.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you:

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

You would still have to define uncleanness as listed as a work of the flesh among the sexual sins. Leaving it undefine by just saying it is not masturbation is hardly convincing, but it is a sign of living in denial.

 

[ken777]

If it represents sin, then why did childbirth render one unclean? And for varying amounts of time depending on if the child was male or female?

Our Lord was in the same room with, and even touched, dead bodies which was the most intense uncleanness listed in the OT. As a Jewish man "born under the Law;" (Gal 4.4) he would have been rendered unclean as well and had to undergo the sprinkling with the ashes of a red heifer. What did that represent to Him?

Why did birth render the woman unclean is a good question. Perhaps you can see an answer here: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. It is also interesting to consider that one of the consequences of the original sin was related to childbirth (Genesis 3:16).

Death was caused by sin ("the sting of death is sin"). Jesus Christ is the One who cleanses from sin and overcomes death.

.

 

[Chicken Little]

"fornication" Now you just hit one of my pet peeves..
all kinds of sexing with a person is becoming one with them and is always adultery married or not .
Fornication is probably Porn or voyerisom and other forms of sex books like romance novels. and is proving to be a source of huge level of death and misery for everyone caught . and now everyone in this society who watches tv commercials is now probably guilty of this sin.
whole groups of youth today can't even work properly because of that sin ..
http://www.covenanteyes.com/2012/08/01/a-cure-for-sexual-dysfunction-stop-using-porn/

and lots more articles ...

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=porn adiction and immpotence

( and the misery index is huge on those "sins" or that family of sins , so maybe he was warning us?) .

 

[Dave-W]

Why did birth render the woman unclean is a good question. Perhaps you can see an answer here: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

No. I do not see it there at all.

So answer the question why did regular marital relations render husband and wife "unclean" until sundown and they bathed? regular Sexual relations were COMMANDED between spouses in both testaments. And yet it rendered them unclean.

 

[Dave-W]

So when someone use the excuse that the word "homosexuality" is found nowhere in the Bible, it is okay?

Actually it is (if you use the right translation)

And when someone claims that fornication is just referring to prostitution so that it is okay to have sex before marriage? What do you say to then?

That they need to study up on the use of the word "pornia" as used in the Jewish Diaspora (Greek speaking) community. It was a LOT more than just prostitution. It included beasiality, sex between near kinsmen, sex during menses with your wife; in addition to premarital sex and prostitution.

You can find verses that describes the act of uncleanness and there is no way masturbation can escape that as "not referring" to that, especially when we are instructed to bring under submission the infirmity in the flesh.

You are assuming that the sex drive (which is a gift from God) is an "infirmity in the flesh." I find that idea self-contradictory. How can it be "of the flesh" and from God at the same time?

 

[ken777]

No. I do not see it there at all.

So answer the question why did regular marital relations render husband and wife "unclean" until sundown and they bathed? regular Sexual relations were COMMANDED between spouses in both testaments. And yet it rendered them unclean.

I edited my last post to include a reference to Genesis 3:16. Sexual relations between husband & wife were condoned by God but after sin entered the world, sex produced death - any child conceived would die. Death was not part of God's original plan.

.

 

[Chicken Little]

for convenience here is Porn's definitions

http://biblehub.com/greek/4202.htm

 

[Tellastory]

"fornication" Now you just hit one of my pet peeves..
all kinds of sexing with a person is becoming one with them and is always adultery married or not .
Fornication is probably Porn or voyerisom and other forms of sex books like romance novels. ......... .

1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

DaveW-Ohev has verified that fornication can mean more than just sex before marriage, but I would always refer to fornication as sex with another before marriage.

Actually it is (if you use the right translation)

That they need to study up on the use of the word "pornia" as used in the Jewish Diaspora (Greek speaking) community. It was a LOT more than just prostitution. It included beasiality, sex between near kinsmen, sex during menses with your wife; in addition to premarital sex and prostitution.

So basically fornication is having sex with another before marriage.

1 Corinthians 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

You are assuming that the sex drive (which is a gift from God) is an "infirmity in the flesh." I find that idea self-contradictory. How can it be "of the flesh" and from God at the same time?

No. I do not equate the sex drive as an infirmity in the flesh when it is in the marriage.

In marriage, you are one flesh and therefore not really considered as separate to be having sex with another before marriage.

Otherwise, the sex drive is a sin because it is operating outside the confines of marriage where the sinner has not been made one with another. So in that incident, the so called "sex drive" which has been created for multiplying in building the family line, as seen as a "sex drive" outside of marriage, is the infirmity in the flesh.