The below Bible study on takes a close look at what the Bible says about masturbation. Feel free to copy, print, or share them. These notes can be helpful for individual study of the Word or for small group Bible studies. We hope your understanding of God’s Word is deeper from them.
What does the Bible say about Masturbation – The Battle for Purity
See part 2 on the battle for purity in the area of pornography.
The Battle for Purity
Where is this battle for purity being fought? Is it in the courtroom, or over the internet, or is it with lawmakers, or maybe within the entertainment industry? Where do you think that the battle for purity is being fought? It is fought in that 1.4 KG of gray matter found between our two ears. Let’s take a look at this brutal battle.
Bad Influences
1 Cor 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Prov 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
Notice what these two verses have in common.
The first thing they have in common is that they address who we hang around with, bad company or foolish companions. Obviously this speaks to what people we select to be our friends. They speak of associating with guys who are corrupt and foolish.
The second issue that both of these verses address is the detrimental affect that these relationships with have on us. They will surely corrupt us and be harmful to us.
But people are not the only bad company or foolish companions that we can hang around with. In the past, personal relationships with people like these was the primary corrupting influence in society, but no longer. In today’s modern society we have corrupting influences like pornography available 24/7 right at our fingertips without leaving the privacy of our homes. The internet, dirty magazines, and movies are the contemporary “bad company” and foolish companions. The Bible is very clear that if we choose to associate with bad company, whether people or other influences, we suffer harm and will be corrupted.
Our old nature is easily influenced to sin. These sinful responses are manifest in a variety of ways which the Bible calls deeds of the flesh. Gal 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strfe, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Notice that the first three “deeds of the flesh” relate to improper sexual views or actions. This is evidence of just how much our sexuality is enslaved to sin.
Immorality is sexual misconduct. It is wickedness and evilness of character or conduct that violates moral principles.
Impurity is state of having our sexuality stained or contaminated by sin.
Sensuality is unrestrained indulgence in sensual pleasures.
Though we are now believers, we know what it was like to be enslaved by lusts and pleasures. Titus 3:3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us,….. Many of you may say that even though Jesus has saved you and you are seeking daily to serve Him, yet you still have an ongoing struggle with sexual immorality. Purity is something that you long for and strive for but you find yourself mired in old sinful habits. You have confessed it and tried to forsake it numerous times. Maybe you have had success for a few days or even a few months only to find yourself once again entangled in it. You may feel like no other Christian has these struggles and that you will never have lasting victory over it. I want to tell you today that both of those assumptions are incorrect. The truth is that other Christians do struggle with the same temptations as you. Satan attacks us in our weakest area and often sexual immorality is at the top of the list. Secondly and more importantly, is that in Christ life-long victory is possible. You absolutely can be free from the chains of whatever sexual sin you have been struggling with.
1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.
God says it is a war. Both He and Satan take it very seriously. We should too! It also says that we should abstain from fleshly lusts. Today, we will look at how we can consistently do this.
Masturbation (self-gratification)
We’ll begin by addressing an issue that people are reluctant to discuss. Perhaps in your entire lifetime you have never had a conversation about this issue. The issue is masturbation. Some might ask, “What’s wrong with it?” Like the Trinity, it is not specifically discussed in the Bible. They would argue that since it is not specifically prohibited, it must be OK. They would argue that masturbation is acceptable in certain circumstances: 1-For single people 2-For married people who have to endure prolonged absences from their spouse 3-As a preventative to committing sexual crimes
Scripture doesn’t specifically discuss masturbation. Neither does it specifically mention smoking, pornography or drug addiction. Yet it clearly gives us the principles that apply to these issues. Speaking of His promises 2 Peter 1:3 states seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. So, He doesn’t leave us in the dark. As this verse points out, Scripture supplies us with not just a few things or even most things, but everything that we need to live a Godly life!
We need to first speak to the issue of whether it is even wrong or not. Some mistakenly ask, “what is wrong with it?” That’s the wrong question! That’s the kind of argument that kids might use with their parents when they disagree with a parental standard about how late to stay out, what kind of music to listen to, or the style of clothes to wear. Well, if that’s the wrong question to ask, what is the right question? Take your pick! Or come up with one of your own.
1. Does this use of my body glorify God? 1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
2. Can I do this in faith believing that it is right and good? Rom 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin .
3. Is masturbation consistent with denying myself as a disciple of Jesus Christ? Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, ” If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. I should deny and crucify, rather than rationalize and justify. Which of you could honestly believe that Jesus masturbated? It would be blasphemous to assert such a thing.
4. Can I dwell on thoughts that are pure and truly God honoring during masturbation? Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. God honoring thoughts do not accompany masturbation. Lustful fantasizing go hand in hand with masturbation.
Or come up with some questions of your own. Guys, we might want to convince ourselves that it’s OK, but an open honest look at Scripture will quickly lead to the conclusion that masturbation is sin and it leads to other sins as well. It is impossible to compartmentalize sin. When we give in to the lusts of the flesh, we get in the habit of caving in to our desires and the downward spiral of sin controls us rather than the Spirit.
I have asked a couple of guys in the ministry to share with you how they have been able to have victory over a sexual impurity stronghold in their own life. Both of them have dealt with the sin head on and God has given and is continuing to give them both victory. It’s not easy to get up in front of 20 of your friends and acknowledge that you have struggled with sexual immorality, so I really appreciate their willingness to serve us in this way by sharing with us their personal experience. It is our nature to want to hide our sin. We don’t want anyone to know. We want to keep it a secret so others will think well of us, but it is a Biblical principle in dealing with a chronic sin problem to drag it out into the light and expose it. The step of exposing it to the light is not only helpful, but necessary for having victory over chronic sin issues. Eph 5:8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9(for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
After we go over some of the Biblical principles of Sexual purity, I’ll ask the other fellow to share how the Lord has given him victory over sexual immorality.
Rom 6:12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. When we give ourselves to sin, it becomes our master
Rom 6:19b For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. What we present our bodies to is what we become slaves of. Formerly we were slaves to impurity, but now we are to become slaves of righteousness. Continuing with this thought about presenting our bodies is….
Rom 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Our bodies should be living holy sacrifices to God rather than be used as an instrument to gratify ourselves.
Another principle related to this issue can be found by looking at Jesus’ temptation.
After having fasted for 40 days, the devil came to Jesus and tempted Him to turn the stones into bread. And really, what was wrong with it? Someone could easily argue that He had been praying and fasting for 40 days and He was legitimately hungry. Also, He was God and had every right to turn the stones into bread. You could even argue that there is nothing specifically in Scripture that prohibited Him from turning the stones into bread. All these arguments are true! So what, if anything, would have been wrong with Jesus turning the stones into bread because He was hungry? Yet, what was Jesus’ response? Matt 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'” How is Jesus’ temptation similar to the temptation to masturbate? Jesus knew that to turn the stones into bread would merely be using His abilities to gratify His fleshly desires.
The Bible makes no provision for sexual fulfillment outside of marriage.
1 Cor 7:9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. These are the only two Biblical alternatives! Paul does not list self-gratification as an acceptable solution.
Matt 23:25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. Some of Jesus’ strongest words were spoken to the scribes and Pharisees. One of their sins was self-indulgence which is the opposite of self-control, a fruit of the Spirit.
Gal 5:16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the 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. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery (excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures)NIV
There are probably several of you in this room who are addicted to masturbation. Here are some steps you can take to gain victory.
Truly repent of this sin to the Lord.
Get an accountability partner.
Pray daily
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