A SEXUAL SIN CALLED MASTURBATION
Sexual sins are ungodly works of the flesh. Sex was wonderfully designed by God and intended for man’s pleasure as well as for the purpose of reproduction but when sin entered into the world at the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God’s purpose for human sexuality became contaminated. Ever since, sexual sins became major obstacles to living holy and pleasing God. Even the great king David, acclaimed to have been a man after God’s heart was not so great when he beheld the nakedness and beauty of Bathsheba who at that time was married. He was overwhelmed by sexual lust and he eventually had sexual intercourse with her. It is the power of the word of God that can set one free from sexual sins. God created man with all the relevant sexual organs and He ordained sex under the marriage covenant only. Unfortunately, the devil always strives to thwart God’s plans and purposes for mankind. Sexual sins begin in the arena of the human mind and they include masturbation, fornication, rape, adultery, homosexuality, incest, pornography, bestiality, pedophilia, etc. Lust is the root of all sexual sins. It is captivating and lethal. Masturbation is one highly predominant sexual sin.WHAT IS MASTURBATION?
It is like a global epidemic which has polluted countless people within and outside the Church. Not a few Christians are conversant with the word. Many claim that masturbation is an alternative God-given means of releasing sexual pressure and tension so as to avoid fornication, adultery, incest, homosexuality and other sexual sins. This school of thought is of the opinion that masturbation helps those who are unmarried as it keeps them from committing various sexual sins. It is said to also help those who are married but whose spouses are unavailable to provide them sexual gratification. Some people argue that masturbation is not mentioned any where in the Bible and thus must be God approved. Purported benefits of masturbation have been brought to the fore by some folks who indulge in masturbation and they include: ease of stress; self-attainment of orgasm, and all that. There are many who are committed to the things of God and who also are profoundly diligent in Church activities but still indulge regularly in masturbation. Some have even confessed to deriving more pleasure from masturbation than sexual relations with their legitimate spouses. What really is masturbation? It is a form of inducing oneself in a sexual manner in order to have sexual gratification or orgasm if possible. From my studies, I discovered that about 80 percent or more of people worldwide are said to masturbate. This act is actually associated with sexual filthy and unholy fantasies. It works in tandem with the spirit of lust. It has been a very hot issue for many centuries. At one particular era, it was considered a plague to be avoided as it was presumed to be responsible for various illnesses including mental insanity. I once read an interesting article which affirmed that the founder of Kellogg Cornflakes was actually an anti-masturbation advocate who was motivated to manufacture Kellogg’s Cornflakes in order to curb the inclination of children toward masturbation. All those years I enjoyed Kellogg’s Cornflakes, I never knew the inspiration behind its manufacture was to curtail the urge of youths toward masturbation. However, I do not think there is any scientific proof whatsoever to substantiate the assertion that Kellogg’s Cornflakes ever curbed the proclivity of teenagers towards masturbation. Masturbation is causing confusion in the Church as many Christians insist it is no sin since it is neither out rightly condemned, discouraged or mentioned in the entire Scriptures. The schools of thought in firm support of masturbation assert the following:
1. That it is better for a person to masturbate than to burn with sexual passion;
2. That it is an alternative means created by God to escape sexual sins particularly for the unmarried, for widows or widowers as well as those who are married but do not enjoy sexual satisfaction due to unavailability of their spouse;
3. That it is not a sexual sin and so was not included among other sexual sins in the Bible;
4. That masturbation can be achieved without lusting and fantasizing and thus cannot be considered as sin;
5. That it is not inherently sinful;
6. That it is a God ordained stop- gap for the unmarried as it helps to relieve sexual tension;
7. That it does not physically cause harm to the human body but rather promotes the human health;
8. That it can be used to glorify God.
We live in a perverse generation wherein false doctrines and eloquent ungodly teachings abound in the Church and in the world at large. Let me respond to the fore-going submissions by first of all asking six simple questions. My questions are:
i. Is there any verse of Scripture that mentions or condemns the act of smoking cigarettes, cigars, tobacco or the use of substances such as cocaine, heroine, and the rest?
ii. If your answer is no, which it must be, then why are Christians discouraged from smoking or using hard drugs?
iii. When a woman uses a vibrator or other sex toys and inserts same into her vagina to stimulate sexual pleasure as well as arouse orgasm, what possibly could be on her mind? The parable of the Sower?
iv. Masturbation, pornography and lust, are they not all intertwined and inspired by the same spirit of darkness?
v. Why do many Christians confess to having a sense of guilt and condemnation after masturbation? Is it Satan who convicts them for their lustful indulgence? If yes, when did Satan start convicting sinners of sin or wrongdoing?
vi. If masturbation is the answer and an alternative for
achieving sexual pleasures especially by the unmarried,
does that not make all who vow to celibacy hypocrites?
My submissions on masturbation are as follows:
_
That masturbation is hardly possible without lustful and sensual thoughts. It is closely connected to pornography or contaminated sexual thoughts. It is difficult to maintain holiness while masturbating. It is a dangerous route to thread on as the spirit of lust lurks along that dark alley in wait for a lucky break to penetrate the heart of susceptible people. Many have confessed to the use of sexual mental pictures and films, sensual phone conversations, and so on, to arouse sexual pleasure as well as attain orgasm during masturbation. The Bible clearly instructs:
“Abstain from all appearance of evil” – (KJV).
Masturbation is an appearance of evil that possesses awesome power to lure people into the polluted trenches of sin. Jesus says,
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out” – Mark 9: 43-44.
Masturbation is a type of “the hand” that could cause you to sin: cut it off. It is a satanic trapped that destroys the human soul. The natural man cannot overcome sin by his own strength. The power of the lust of the flesh can only be subdued by the power of God’s Spirit at work in the life of an individual. That is one reason the Bible admonishes Christians to submit to God and to resist the devil.
Now, let us take an analytical look at the book of Roman 6: 12-23. It’s quite a long one but it is very instructive:
“Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourself to God, as those who have been bought from death to life and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves; you are slaves to the one, whom you obey- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you whole-heartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our lord”.
Be slaves to righteousness, no longer to sin, lust, idolatry, adultery,
Masturbation, etc
_
Masturbation is addictive. It is as terrible as using cocaine. People who smoke or use hard drugs will reel out benefits of indulging in such acts. Nevertheless, such drugs are addictive, dangerous and can cause grave harm to the human body, which God created to represent His Temple. Just as many are addicted to drugs and cannot do without having several shots each day, so are many addicted to masturbation. A lot of people cannot do without masturbation daily and for some, several times daily, married folks inclusive as it becomes habitual. Scores of people surf the Internet to down load erotic pictures that would stimulate masturbation. When a habit becomes addictive, it becomes idolatry, an object of passion, devotion and adoration. It takes the place of God. The Bible states:
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them for I, the lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third generation of those who hate me”.
- Exo. 20:3-5
The Apostle Paul, in 1 Cor. 7:8 says
“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: it is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion”.
Wow!! He says to the adolescent, the unmarried, the widows, et cetera, that if they cannot control themselves in sexual purity, instead of burning with passion culminating in lust, fornication and idolatry, then they should marry. Apostle Paul did not recommend masturbation as the alternative for the unmarried to ease sexual passion. He says, ‘marry’!
Masturbation is a serious challenge for many Christians in particular who are addicted to this sexual habit. As a result, some are grieved by guilt which I believe is a result of the Holy Spirit’s conviction. This demonic oppression can be destroyed by the power of the word of God. Many Christians indulge in one sexual sin or the other. This is unfortunate. Howbeit, there is hope and a way out for all who dwell in sin- REPENT! Ask God to have mercy on you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness as well as strengthen you wholly. If you are a mere Church-goer and have never really dedicated your life to Jesus Christ, I encourage you to do that right now. Ask Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life. Ask Him to deliver you from the power of all sexual sins and He’ll do just that. Some of the ways to stay secure from the fang of sexual sins are:
1. Realize that sexual sins destroys the body and soul;
2. Realize that sexual sins lead to spiritual death;
3. Allow the word of God to dwell in your heart richly;
4. Dedicate your life to please God and not Satan;
5. Never allow impure thoughts or images into your mind;
6. Avoid all sorts of pornographic pictures and literatures;
7. Pray for God to heal you and deliver you from sexual sins which
trigger death.
The Scripture states in James 1:12,
“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him”.
The Bible call for everyone to flee from all appearance of evil desires and to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord (2 Tim. 2:22). One way to flee evil desires is to pray fervently in tongues when such evil desires begin to manifest. You can only do this if you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior as well as having been baptized in the Holy Ghost. When you pray in the spirit or in tongues for as long as you can any time the urge to masturbate turns up, light will definitely defeat darkness and the demons of lust will flee from you. The Bible says that when we pray in tongues, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray according to the will of the Father. We will then be edified, energized, strengthened and empowered. The Holy Spirit helps our weaknesses. Our bodies are not for unholy sexual activities but for the glory of the living God. Anytime the spirit of masturbation, lust, pornography, adultery, incest, bestiality, fornication, and the rest show up in order to seduce and defile your heart, pray in the spirit and you will receive strength to subdue that evil desire. Anyone who gives in to these sexual practices opens a window in his/her life for demons to penetrate. Let me wrap up this subject with three Scripture references for your perusal:
_ 1 John 2: 15-16 states:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him. For everything in the world- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of the eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the father but from the world”.
_ Col 3: 2-6:
“Set your minds on the things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming”.
_ Gal 5: 16-17:
“So I say, live by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of sinful nature. For sinful nature desires what is contrary to the spirit and the spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want”.
FOR MORE ON SEXUAL SINS, WATCH FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE BOOK “FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT” SLATED FOR RELEASE IN 2007.ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Ejiro Okene