Is Masturbation a Sin in Christianity? (Get All The Facts)

Humans are sexual beings, and this fact reflects in our interactions with people across the world. There are contents that hint at sex on the TV, in music, poetry, and other art forms. This makes it popular and even more important, as it is required for the human race’s continued existence.

Despite the importance and popularity of sex, it does not fall outside the purview of religion. As with other aspects of human life, religion seeks to control sexual activities and behaviors. This is why there are questions as to the appropriateness of certain sexual activities.

One of these sexual activities is masturbation, and in this article, we will discuss if masturbation is a sin in Christianity.

What is Masturbation?

Masturbation is an act of touching your sexual genitals and other sensitive parts of your body in an effort to stimulate sexual pleasure. This means that the private parts or sexual body parts are not the only parts used in masturbation. As long as the body parts help you achieve sexual pleasure and touch them to stimulate sexual pleasure, it is masturbation.

Masturbation exists in different forms and is usually categorized based on the body parts used to masturbate. Also, contrary to what many people think, it is not limited to only when you touch yourself. Another person can help you masturbate by touching these sensitive and sexual body parts.

A picture showing Biblical verses explaining masturbation — Biblical verses explaining masturbation

According to many health experts, masturbation is another safe form of having sex, and there is nothing special about it. In fact, there is a joke that masturbation is so common that 80% of people masturbate, and the other 20% lie about it.

However, we know that the stance of the secular world on many matters differs greatly from that of the religious world. The topic of masturbation is not different, and we can expect that religion has a different standpoint on the appropriateness of masturbation.

Is Masturbation a Sin in Christianity?

To have a wholesome idea of what Christianity says about masturbation, you need to understand the biblical pronouncements on the topic. However, a search of the word “masturbation” in the bible will show you that the scripture does not say anything regarding the act of pleasuring oneself.

The closest thing to masturbation that the holy scripture mentions are lust and sexual immorality. In many parts of the scripture, sexual immorality and lust were regarded as a sin, and good Christians are warned to abstain from them. However, the absence of the word “masturbation” in the bible does not mean it is not sinful or that it is allowed in Christianity.

Biblical scholars have made proclamations on the topic using some bible parts as evidence. But before examining these proclamations, let us discuss the arguments for and against masturbation.

Arguments for Masturbation

A section of the Christian populace believes that masturbation itself is not a sin. This section of Christians believes that the act is permissible and can be beneficial at times. They believe in the benefits of masturbation which include relieving sexual tension and stress, learning more about your body and understanding what works for you sexually, and also sleeping better.

Using the bible verse in 1 Corinthians 6 verse 12 as evidence, they argue that masturbation is permissible as long as it does not become an addiction. They also recognize that masturbation is a way for many people to attain sexual pleasure.

Relying on the statistics that 70% of women do not attain orgasm through vaginal intercourse, many pro-masturbation proponents sustain that masturbation is important for many people to attain sexual pleasure. The same argument is extended to widows and widowers who have no partner with which they can have lawful and healthy sex.

The last point used by these proponents is that masturbation fits in when ill health, injuries, and impotence have adversely affected sexual health and the ability to have sex. In all, the arguments in favor of masturbation highlight its advantages, situations where it may prove useful, and the reminder that the bible mentioned that everything is permissible as long as it is within limit according to 1 Corinthians 6 vs. 12.

MORE:

Arguments Against Masturbation

The proponents who are against masturbation maintain that the act is an act of sexual immorality and evidence of poor self-control. They establish that masturbation is a form of instant self-gratification, which is a sign of poor self-control. The Bible clearly encourages believers to have self-control as an act of obedience to God and the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5, verses 22 and 23.

They also show that it is a form of sexual immorality and lust by using the definition of lust according to the scriptures. Lust is craving without restraint, and the opponents of masturbation argue that this is the case with people who engage in masturbation.

Using the numerous Bible verses that point to the sinful nature of sexual immorality and lust, this section of Christendom can argue that masturbation is a sin according to the rules of the scripture.

Another argument against masturbation is that it takes the place of sexual intimacy that is supposed to exist between couples. Seeing as many people, especially women, attain better sexual pleasure through masturbation, they may not be open to vaginal intercourse as much as they should.

Men that masturbate may also feel a sense of reduced intimacy with their wives. Rather than see their wives as partners and devote themselves to ensuring mutual attainment of sexual pleasure, the men start to use the woman as a visual stimulus for sexual pleasure, which affects the relationship and interaction between the couple.

If this continues for a long time, it affects the sexual life of the couple and seeps into the marital life. Before you know it, the marriage starts having issues, and divorce may get into the mix.

Finally, there is a risk of addiction if masturbation continues for a long time. With a person addicted to masturbation, other parts of the person’s life, such as their work, health, hygiene, and interpersonal relationships, start to suffer for it.

The Biblical Stance on Masturbation

We have mentioned that there are no direct instructions regarding masturbation in the bible. Christianity agrees that sex within the premise of lawful marriage is good and encouraged. However, nothing is said about the acts of pleasuring oneself.

This means we have to infer from different parts of the bible to get a direct answer to the question, “is masturbation a sin in Christianity?”

One of the major points of inference on the topic is the story of Tamar and Onan, as presented in the book of Genesis chapter 38. This story is not only used as a point against masturbation but also as a point against the use of contraceptives or any form of birth control.

The story starts when Tamar lost her husband and has not given birth to an heir. According to the Hebrew Law, a widow without a child for the dead husband would be married back into the family of the husband. This is to preserve the dead husband’s family line and ensure that the husband’s name is not blotted out of the book of history in Israel.

With this arrangement, the first child born out of that union bears the dead husband’s name and not the new husband, who is from the dead husband’s family. This was the situation with Tamar, and Onan was a member of the dead husband’s family who stepped forward to marry Tamar.

However, upon realizing that the first child of the marriage would not bear his name, Onan refused to release his semen into Tamar during sex. Instead, he would spill his semen on the floor to prevent getting Tamar pregnant and having a child for his brother. This act was considered an act of wickedness before God, and God put him to death.

This story is used as evidence against masturbation because it bears some similarities to masturbation. The two actions are similar in that they are both acts of sexual experience that avoid the potential for procreation.

In the same vein, masturbation gives room for the avoidance of other benefits of sex. According to the Songs of Solomon, the Bible mentions that apart from procreation, there are other benefits to sex. These benefits include intimacy, mutual satisfaction, and companionship. By engaging in masturbation, you miss out on these benefits.

However, it bears mentioning that another interpretation of the story is that Onan’s action may not be sinful in itself, but because it exudes selfishness, it becomes a sin.

Conclusion

While the Bible does not explicitly say that masturbation is a sin, it is clear that the act is a result of sexual immorality, lack of self-control, and lust, all of which are sins according to the bible. Better put, while masturbation is not a sin in itself, it is a sign or manifestation of other sins.

It is a clear act of defiance of instructions given by the Bible and a threat to the scriptural stipulations regarding sex and its benefits. While it is true that some benefits have alluded to masturbation, these benefits can be enjoyed through other actions that are not sinful.

If you want to ease sexual tension, devote your time and attention to something productive or physically tasking. If you want to avoid pre-marital sex or sexual infections and diseases, abstinence does better than masturbation.

Finally, the Bible teaches that the body is a temple of God and the Holy Spirit and should be kept holy at all times. Masturbation takes the holiness away from the body and defiles it.

MORE: