IS MASTURBATION A SIN?

"'When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening. Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening. When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening. (Lev 15:16-18)
Notice verse 18 deals with seminal emission during sexual intercourse, but verse 16 is speaking of a seminal emission that does not occur as a result of intercourse. He simply said, "Go take a bath." The phrase has been misunderstood by many especially those that uses their head knowledge and intellect to interprete the Word of God as a permission from Hm to embark on the subject matter. Even research has found that masturbation serves to release sexual tension. If a man is prevented from having sexual release, then the seminal fluids can back up, causing increased sexual tension and physical discomfort. Can we because of scientific point of view accept this as a proper act? Can we start or continue in this act and we think God is pleasant with it? We should draw a curtain between nightmare and masturbation as verse 16 is only talking about nightmare.
Oxford dictionary defines masturbation as a process of giving yourself sexual pleasure by rubbing your sexual organs. In order words it is a deliberate act by self in order to satisfy the desire of your flesh. While the Bible nowhere explicitly states that masturbation is a sin, there is no question as to whether the actions that lead to masturbation are sinful. Masturbation is a sin because a person consents in their own heart to take sexual gratification from impure thoughts. It is sinful to indulge in the sexual pleasure that is derived from the satisfaction of using one's imagination to fixate upon obscene images, or obscene actions, or forbidden sex. Lustfully fixating upon genitals, or sexual acts, is idolatry. This is called: the worship of obscenities. This is the sin of those addicted to pornography. The act of masturbation is an outward act that confirms that one's heart and mind has consented to an inward act of impurity. To attain sexual release, a person's will consent to love something that is sexually impure.
A sin consists in loving something that God hates, or in hating something that God loves. Go Masturbation is nearly always the result of lustful thoughts, sexual stimulation, and/or pornographic images. It is these problems that need to be dealt with. If the sins of lust, immoral thoughts, and pornography are forsaken and overcome, masturbation will become a non-issue. Many people struggle with guilty feelings concerning masturbation, when in reality, the things that led to the act are far more worthy of repentance.

There are some biblical principles that can be applied to the issue of masturbation. Ephesians 5:3 declares, “Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity.” It is hard to see how masturbating can pass that particular test. The Bible teaches us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31. If you cannot give God glory for something, you should not do it. If a person is not fully convinced that an activity is pleasing to God, then it is a sin: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” Romans 14:23. Further, we need to remember that our bodies have been redeemed and belong to God. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
CONCLUSION: This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do with our bodies. In light of these principles, the conclusion that masturbation is a sin is biblical. Clearly, masturbation is not glorifying to God; it does not avoid the appearance of immorality, nor does it pass the test of God’s having ownership over our bodies.
Olatunji Olusegun
Redeemed Christian Fellowship
victorolat@gmail.com