Last updated on August 28, 2020
Question:
This is an uncomfortable question for me to ask. I believe you stated that masturbation is a sin when lustful thoughts are involved. If I am incorrect, I apologize. My question is, in your opinion or a passage from the Bible, is it possible to masturbate without sinning and having lustful thoughts? I have never masturbated without thinking of women in my life. I now realize those were all sins. However, if I don’t masturbate, I feel as though my body will explode.
Answer:
Let me reword your statement just slightly. I know of nothing in the Bible that states masturbation, by itself, as being a sin. Rather, I have found a few passages which indicate that acknowledge that it exists. See:
Lustful thoughts, however, are a different matter. They are sinful, no matter the context in which they are used (Matthew 5:28). In other words, masturbation doesn’t become a sin when it is accompanied by pornography or lustful thoughts; it is pornography and lustful thoughts that are sinful.
Most boys discover masturbation accidentally. Usually the first time or two it is not accompanied by any particular thoughts. But it doesn’t take long to realize that thoughts about sexual situations make it easier to masturbate. The two become so tied together that most men forget that they can be separate.
When someone tells me that they really need the relief from masturbation, but they realize that pornography and lust are wrong, I point out a simple fact: If you wait until the “I feel as though my body will explode” point and then masturbate, you can do so without thinking about anything in particular because the body so strongly needs the ejaculation. Repeating this a number of times helps you relearn that you can ejaculate without lustful thoughts. You won’t do it as often as before because the reduction of sexual thoughts slows down the production of semen. But in this manner, you can manage your sexual urges without sinning in your mind.