Question:
Good morning, Mr. Jeffery!
Would you say that as long as I’m not lusting in any way, then masturbating is fine? I’ve read lots of your articles on the subject and how the Bible is not silent on it. But in the Old Law, it’s comparable to a pig or a woman in her menstrual cycle.
Answer:
Yes, in the Old Testament, semen and monthly blood flows were considered unclean. However, unclean doesn’t mean the person sinned. Women don’t sin every month by having a blood flow, nor do men sin by ejaculating. Burying a dead body also made a person unclean, but that doesn’t mean the undertakers were sinning. See “Uncleanness” for a detailed discussion on uncleanness.
So, let’s talk a moment about what lust is. Lust is strongly desiring something that is sinful. Imagining yourself having sex with a girl before marriage is lust. Watching other people have sex would also be lust. Lust is wrong because it accepts sin (Matthew 5:28; Mark 7:21-23).
When your seminal vesicles are full, your desire for sex rises, and sexual thoughts keep popping up in your mind. These would be temptations to sin. When you are in such a state, and you aren’t able to have a wet dream, it usually doesn’t take long to trigger an ejaculation by masturbation. Focus on the pleasure of relieving yourself, and don’t imagine sinful scenarios, and you will not be sinning.