Masturbation
A blog reader asked…
My response…
First I want to explain that the scripture about Onan from Genesis 38:8-10 is not about masturbation. People who apply Onan spilling his semen on the ground to ejaculating from masturbation have taken that scripture out of context. The reason God struck down Onan is because he was obstructing the lineage through which Christ would inherit the throne of Israel. As we see when Jacob (Israel) blesses his sons before his death in Genesis 49, Reuben, Simeon and Levi had already forfeit their inheritance of the throne, causing it to pass to Judah (Genesis 49:10). Onan’s refusal to fulfill the tradition of bearing a son for Judah’s first born would have broken that line. God taking Onan’s life allowed the tradition to again be fulfilled by another, thus keeping the line open. Onan wasn’t killed because he ejaculated on the ground, he was killed because he obstructed the inheritance intended for Jesus Christ.
Now as for masturbation itself, I want to make it clear that it is a sin. The reason it is a sin is because the act of masturbation involves lusting after someone we have no right to lust after. When someone masturbates, that always involves sexual thoughts about someone. Sexual activity is reserved for a husband and wife to share together with each other, and anything outside of that is wrong. Jesus made this quite clear in His teaching of Matthew 5:28. Since you have already said that you don’t want to fail the Lord, I don’t want you to be misled or confused into thinking that masturbation is ok to do. Masturbation is a sin.
Having said that, however, I also want to make it clear that masturbation is not “the unpardonable sin”. Everybody sins. Sometimes we don’t even realize that we are sinning, especially if we are new Christians. A large part of the Christian walk is learning how to recognize when we are sinning, and an even larger part is learning how to overcome our desires to continue to commit those sins. It is not our absence of sin that saves us, rather it is our inability to keep from sinning, that shows why we need Christ.
If you struggle with desires to masturbate, you are not alone, and God is not angry with you because of that. God will continue to forgive your sins as many times as you need Him to. There is no limit to God’s forgiveness, nor His willingness to forgive.
I have found that the best way to avoid sin is to stay focused on God, but it isn’t easy. The devil is very crafty in throwing temptations our way, and it is impossible to avoid seeing things that can become a temptation for lust. Keep your eyes on God and resist the devil, but if you fall, do not think you have failed God. It is impossible to fail God as long as you keep seeking after Him.
James :)
I just recently received and accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord, but the thing is that I used to masturbate a lot. I’ve been searching around in the internet and found different people that claim different things coming from Onan in the Genesis... Could you please try to clarify this to me? Because I feel the urge to do so, but I don’t want to fail on the Lord.
My response…
First I want to explain that the scripture about Onan from Genesis 38:8-10 is not about masturbation. People who apply Onan spilling his semen on the ground to ejaculating from masturbation have taken that scripture out of context. The reason God struck down Onan is because he was obstructing the lineage through which Christ would inherit the throne of Israel. As we see when Jacob (Israel) blesses his sons before his death in Genesis 49, Reuben, Simeon and Levi had already forfeit their inheritance of the throne, causing it to pass to Judah (Genesis 49:10). Onan’s refusal to fulfill the tradition of bearing a son for Judah’s first born would have broken that line. God taking Onan’s life allowed the tradition to again be fulfilled by another, thus keeping the line open. Onan wasn’t killed because he ejaculated on the ground, he was killed because he obstructed the inheritance intended for Jesus Christ.
Now as for masturbation itself, I want to make it clear that it is a sin. The reason it is a sin is because the act of masturbation involves lusting after someone we have no right to lust after. When someone masturbates, that always involves sexual thoughts about someone. Sexual activity is reserved for a husband and wife to share together with each other, and anything outside of that is wrong. Jesus made this quite clear in His teaching of Matthew 5:28. Since you have already said that you don’t want to fail the Lord, I don’t want you to be misled or confused into thinking that masturbation is ok to do. Masturbation is a sin.
Having said that, however, I also want to make it clear that masturbation is not “the unpardonable sin”. Everybody sins. Sometimes we don’t even realize that we are sinning, especially if we are new Christians. A large part of the Christian walk is learning how to recognize when we are sinning, and an even larger part is learning how to overcome our desires to continue to commit those sins. It is not our absence of sin that saves us, rather it is our inability to keep from sinning, that shows why we need Christ.
If you struggle with desires to masturbate, you are not alone, and God is not angry with you because of that. God will continue to forgive your sins as many times as you need Him to. There is no limit to God’s forgiveness, nor His willingness to forgive.
Romans 8:33-39 -
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
I have found that the best way to avoid sin is to stay focused on God, but it isn’t easy. The devil is very crafty in throwing temptations our way, and it is impossible to avoid seeing things that can become a temptation for lust. Keep your eyes on God and resist the devil, but if you fall, do not think you have failed God. It is impossible to fail God as long as you keep seeking after Him.
James :)
posted by AskAboutGod | Wednesday, April 14, 2010
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