Last updated on October 3, 2020
Question:
Hey guys,
I just had a question. I am a teenage Christian. Some days I don’t have anything to do and my hormones are raging. I heard about Christian porn and was wondering if, as a Christian, I can watch it and masturbate to it.
Thank you guys so much and God bless!
Answer:
Just because someone slaps the word “Christian” in front of something doesn’t make it right. As Jesus once asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).
Pornography is material that deals with sex in a rude or offensive manner; material designed to shock the viewer in how sex is depicted; or material that is sexually explicit and intended to arouse sexual passion. In other words, it is material purposely designed to incite lust in the viewer or reader of pornography.
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God” (I Thessalonians 4:3-5).
“Passion of lust” translates to Greek words which both refer to lustful things. It is depictions of lustful things that are designed to generate lust — i.e. pornography. As Paul points out, it is sinful. You can’t be a Christian and chase after sin. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2).
If your desire for sex is raging, it most likely is due to your seminal vesicles being full. If masturbating doesn’t bother you, then go ahead and relieve yourself, but do it without looking at sinful things. It won’t be as “exciting,” but excitement isn’t worth committing sin.
Question:
Thanks for your reply. I don’t want to contradict you, but these passages were from the Christians and nudity section on a web site:
“I realize we have gone over a lot of information, and you can see by the images I have displayed in this paper that I do not believe it is wrong for a Christian to view nudity. It is not wrong to view nudity, whether in paintings or in photographs. It is not even wrong to be aroused by viewing nude images. Pornography is a different story. It would be wrong to derive pleasure from photos or movies of actual people fornicating. If someone becomes voluntarily naked, temporarily and for a legitimate purpose that does not involve sinful behavior, there is nothing wrong that. So there would be nothing wrong with a Christian being a nude model, or a Christian photographing or painting nude models. The sin comes when covetous thoughts come as we talked about earlier.”
Sorry for the long text. Thank you so much again and God bless!
Answer:
“But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 17-19).
“For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (II Peter 2:18-19).
These two passages warn that one method used by false teachers is to use sensuality and lust as a means of gaining acceptance of their teachings. These are attractive because the appeal is to what people often want to hear, though not what they need to hear. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (II Timothy 4:3-4). Knowing that this problem exists, it requires that we analyze what people claim against what the Bible actually teaches.
The quote you gave basically states that there is nothing shameful in nudity, it is only illicit sex that is to be avoided. Therefore, let us consider whether this claim matches up with the Bible’s’ teachings.
The general rule since the fall of man is that a person doesn’t expose his genitals to others. We make efforts to keep our privates private. “And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it” (I Corinthians 12:23-24). Of course, there will always be times when it can’t be avoided; yet, we should make efforts to minimize it. Being seen naked in front of others ought to trigger a sense of shame. “Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yes, your shame will be seen” (Isaiah 47:3).
An example is that of Ham (Genesis 9:20-27). Ham’s father, Noah, sinned by making wine and getting drunk. Ham accidentally walked in on Noah while he laid naked in his tent. Rather than be embarrassed by the situation, Ham went to his brothers. We aren’t told what he said, but it is likely he thought it was funny that their father was acting so poorly. I want you to particularly note Japheth and Shem’s response. “But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness” (Genesis 9:23). I’m sure that over the years there were many occasions when they might have seen their father without clothes. They could have just walked in and covered him up, but they were making a strong point. Their father, because of his drunkenness, was in an embarrassing state and they refused to see their father lowered in their eyes. Thus, they went out of their way to make sure they didn’t see Noah uncovered.
Every Christian ought to be conscientious of other people’s feelings. If someone else is naked, simply avert your eyes out of respect for them. Hopefully, others will do the same for you. But notice that this website claims the opposite — that it is perfectly fine to look at other people’s nakedness and that being naked is not shameful. This contradicts God’s teachings.
Nakedness can’t always be avoided. It doesn’t become sinful unless it is done for sexual pleasure or voyeurism. Yet, it remains shameful. One of the condemnations God had of Israel was: “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness!” (Habakkuk 2:15). This site is promoting looking at people’s nakedness.
Since it does not match what is found in the Bible, we realize that this site is promoting false teachings using sexual desire as the vehicle to get it accepted.