Can a Christian masturbate? This is one of the many questions Christians have regarding things in life that are normal to the world but questionable to Christians. Masturbation is considered normal in the world, but what does the Bible say about masturbation? Is masturbation a sin in the Bible or not? When something becomes questionable in your life, you already know the answer. Because the Holy Spirit has revealed to you, that as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t belong in your life. Unfortunately, many Christians have a rebellious character. They are not willing to remove certain things from their lives, because they enjoy doing it. For that reason, Christians try to find reasons and excuses to make something approved to do. Many times, the love for the flesh is greater than the love for Jesus Christ. The love for the flesh always causes strive with the Spirit. But are Christians allowed to masturbate? Does God approve of masturbation or is masturbation against the will of God and is it a sin to masturbate?
The spiritual realm becomes visible in
the natural realm
Whatever happens in the spiritual realm will eventually become visible in the natural realm. Nothing remains hidden, everything will be exposed.
If you would like to know what kind of demonic forces are active in families, houses, places, cities, countries, territories, and the world, then all you need to do is look at the lives of the people and people’s behavior.
Because demons, who are unclean spirits, want to possess people to manifest themselves. Demons are always looking into whose life they can enter, and whom they can tempt, control, and eventually destroy. Because that is the mission of demons, to tempt, possess, and destroy.
The world revolves around sex
We live in a world, where everything revolves around sex. Almost everywhere you go, you will be confronted with sexual content. Like for example in newspapers, magazines, books, on television, in ads, on social media, at school, and at work. And let’s not forget the conversations between people (Read also: What is the spiritual danger of television?).
What used to be forbidden and considered a taboo is no longer forbidden and considered a taboo. But it has been accepted and become common. This didn’t happen overnight, but it happened very slowly.
When you watched a movie in the old days, it was provocative for actors to kiss each other. But nowadays, the actors are naked and kiss each other and are intimate with each other in front of the crew and the cameras. There is no taboo and no shame anymore.
All because of the sexual influence in people’s lives and the fact that many unclean works of the flesh are normalized, masturbation is no longer considered a taboo but has become normal. Most people talk freely about masturbation and are not ashamed of masturbation.
Can Christians masturbate?
But what happens, when you become a Christian? What happens when you believe in Jesus Christ and repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord and become born again in Christ and you lay down your flesh? (Read also: What is repentance really?)
When you become a new creation in Christ, can you keep masturbating? Well, is masturbation a work of the Spirit or a work of the flesh?
The Bible says that you have to put off the works of the flesh. Therefore, if masturbation is not a work of the Spirit but masturbation is a work of the flesh, you have to put off masturbation according to the Bible (Read also: How to put off the old man?).
When and why do you masturbate?
When do you masturbate? You masturbate when you are wrought up and overwhelmed with sexual feelings of lust in your flesh that you want to satisfy. These carnal sexual feelings of lust don’t appear suddenly, they don’t appear out of the blue. But these feelings of lust came from your carnal senses (what you perceived) and your carnal mind.
Your senses perceived sexually explicit images or content, which entered your mind. In your mind, you dwelled upon these sexual images, content, and fantasies, which provoked these sexual feelings of lust. These sexual feelings of lust may lead to masturbation.
Before the act of masturbation takes place, many things have already taken place in your mind and your body.
You can’t masturbate without sexual thoughts, sexual images, and/or sexual fantasies. That is impossible! Because sexual thoughts or sexual images lead to sexual feelings of lust that lead to masturbation.
Masturbation is nurtured by your senses and carnal mind. Therefore it’s important what you watch, what you read, what you listen to, and what you do.
Watching television may lead to masturbation
Let’s look at a few examples from daily life that can stir up feelings of sexual lust. Let’s start with the eyes and what you look at. When you watch a movie, series, or program on television with sexual content, the sexual images will settle in your mind and can provoke sexual feelings of lust.
What happens in the spiritual realm? In the spiritual realm, the unclean spirit of lust will try to enter your life via these images. This is the same unclean spirit of lust, from which the movie, series,s or program has originated.
When the spirit of lust has entered your life, the unclean spirit will manifest itself in your flesh. He will defile your mind and bring up perverse thoughts and images to your mind and create sexual fantasies that will cause sexual feelings of lust, you want to satisfy. The only way to satisfy these feelings of lust is by masturbating and so you will masturbate.
Porn may lead to masturbation
And let’s not forget porn. It’s unbelievable, how many Christians watch porn (secretly) on television, the internet, in erotic magazines, etc.. They feed themselves with unclean images that defile their minds. (Read also: ‘What is the danger of pornography?).
These unclean images represent everything that goes against the Word of God. Like for example, fornication, adultery, premarital sex, same-sex, group sex, sex with animals, sex with minors, and so on.
These sexual images and content enter your mind and open the door for an unclean spirit of lust to enter your life, and possess your mind and shall not leave you alone.
This spirit of lust will constantly bring up these unclean images in your mind and provoke sexual feelings of lust. And to satisfy these feelings of lust, you will masturbate.
Not only through television, (social) media, books, magazines, and porn you may be confronted with sexual images and content. In your daily life, you can also be confronted with sexual images; via billboards or the way someone is dressed on the street, at school, at work, or even in the church. You look at that person and what you perceive can create sexual thoughts and perverse images in your mind that can lead to feelings of lust. The feelings of lust may lead to masturbation.
romantic books may lead to masturbation
An unclean spirit of sexual lust can also enter your life through (social) media, books, and magazines. The words you read can create sexual images, thoughts, and fantasies in your mind that provoke sexual feelings of lust. These feelings of lust may lead to masturbation.
What are you listening to?
Let’s say, you are conversing with someone and suddenly, the person tells you a dirty joke or story. By listening, you grant your ears to the dirty words, which are spoken. These dirty words will be transformed into sexual thoughts and images in your mind. These sexual thoughts and images in your mind can provoke sexual feelings of lust, which could lead to masturbation.
What do you feel?
During sports, at school, or at your job, you can become very close to someone or someone may have ulterior motives. The person tries to seduce you by standing close to you, touching you, or embracing you, which could cause sexual fantasies, and provoke sexual feelings of lust, which you will satisfy by masturbating.
What do you drink?
Alcohol and sex are spiritual friends. When you drink a couple of glasses of wine, beer, or other alcoholic beverages, the alcohol will provoke sexual feelings of lust, which can lead to masturbation.
These are just some of the many examples, whereby sexual feelings of lust are provoked that can lead to masturbation.
Masturbation is a work of the flesh and not of the spirit
One thing is certain, masturbation originates from your feelings and is a work of the flesh. Your feelings are controlled by your mind. Your mind is fed by what you perceive with your senses. This means, that if you are overwhelmed with sexual feelings of lust, then a lot of things have already taken place in your mind.
It is important to live a disciplined life and to keep an eye on your senses to guard your mind.
You have to be careful what you watch, what you read, to whom you listen, etc. (Read also: Why do you have to guard your mind?)
You should guard your mind from unclean sexual images or content that can create sexual fantasies. You must be careful about what thoughts you dwell upon in your mind.
When you seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father and are busy with the things of the Kingdom of God and keep your mind pure and holy and guard your senses and mind against these sexual images, content, and fantasies, then your mind shall not provoke sexual feelings of lust that lead to masturbation.
But as soon as you seek the things on earth and allow the things of this world to enter your mind and you open yourself to all kinds of sexual filthiness that create sexual images, thoughts, and fantasies in your mind, then feelings of lust will be provoked and it won’t be long before you will masturbate.
Committing adultery through masturbation
Many Christians are also ignorant of the fact that when you masturbate you commit adultery.
You can’t masturbate without having erotic images, thoughts, or fantasies in your mind. The Bible says, that if you only look at a person with lust, then you have already committed adultery.
What does the Bible say about sexual thoughts, images, and fantasies?
You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28)
Jesus knew the spirit realm. He knew the consequences in the spiritual realm of an act in the natural realm. (Read also: Fighting against an invisible enemy).
Jesus knew what would happen if you lust in your mind (heart) after someone, who isn’t your spouse. That’s why Jesus said, that if you lust after someone, who isn’t your spouse, you have already committed adultery in your heart.
When you allow that spirit of lust to have its way in your mind and create sexual images of another person in your mind, then in the spiritual realm, you will be joined together with that person.
What does the Bible say about feelings of lust and desire?
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others (Ephesians 2:3)
People, who are not born again or are spiritual babies, live in subjection to their flesh. They are led by their senses, carnal mind, and feelings. Their feelings, emotions, and thoughts reign in their lives and dictate them what to do. If the flesh wants to satisfy its sexual lusts and desires, they obey the flesh and masturbate.
But born-again believers, who are sons of God (males and females) walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. They rule over their thoughts, emotions, feelings, and will. (Read also: ‘Take authority over your thoughts before they take authority over you‘).
The Holy Spirit dwells in them and they discern the spirits and see, what takes place in the spiritual realm.
They discern the darkness from light. Therefore, they’ll turn away from things, that cause unclean thoughts, images, and feelings. Not because they can’t control their feelings, but because they don’t want to defile their minds.
They don’t want to have communion with unclean spirits. They don’t want to be partakers of the works of darkness. Instead, they keep their minds pure.
The children of God discern good from evil. They won’t engage in evil, because they know where evil originates from. They know that sin leads to bondage and death. (Read also: Shall you not die if you keep sinning?)
When you masturbate, you obey your flesh and are a slave of your flesh. You obey this unclean spirit that operates in your flesh and controls your mind. You give what this spirit of lust demands, which is sex.
Masturbation is a bondage of the flesh
Masturbation is a bondage of the flesh (addiction). Therefore masturbation is not a one-time thing. Once you start masturbating and obey and feed that spirit of lust through masturbation, you allow that spirit of lust to rule over you. You become his slave and become addicted to masturbation and you shall not be able to stop masturbating.
The images in your mind that turned you on in the beginning, shall not work anymore. Therefore you shall push your boundaries and create more perverse sexual thoughts, images, and fantasies.
How to stop masturbation?
When you become aware of who keeps you in bondage and you don’t want to be controlled by that evil spirit anymore and you want to stop masturbating, then you should stop obeying his commandment to masturbate. You should command that spirit of lust to leave your body and stop giving in what he wants.
You shall command him to go, in the Name of Jesus and that spirit must obey your command. Because you have been given the authority in Jesus Christ (Read also: Faith in the Name of Jesus).
But it’s all about your will. Do you really want to stop masturbating and be delivered from your masturbation addiction?
Is your love for Jesus greater than the love for your flesh?
If your will is possessed by an evil spirit and you think you don’t have any willpower and are not able to cast out this unclean spirit from your life, then you can search for a fellow believer, who is born again and walks after the Spirit in the authority of Christ and can deliver you from these demonic powers.
The authority of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit can set any person free instantly.
No human therapy can compete with that. It doesn’t matter if you are possessed by one demonic spirit or hundreds of demonic spirits. In the Name of Jesus Christ, you can be set free instantly. (Read also: Does Christian psychology exist?).
What do you do when the spirit of lust returns?
What do you do, if you are delivered and the evil spirit tries to return, by bringing up unclean images and thoughts in your mind, or feelings of lust in your body? Don’t give in! But remind him that you’ve commanded him to go in the Name of Jesus.
You tell him he has no right to occupy your mind. Because your mind belongs to Jesus Christ. You are not his servant anymore but you are a servant of Christ.
You should take every thought, that goes against the Word of God, captive in Jesus Christ; the Word. But you can only do that if you know the Word.
Therefore you have to read and study the Bible. You have to feed your mind with the words of God and meditate on the Word. You should dwell day and night on the words of God and let them not depart from your mind. As long as your mind stays on the Word of God, you will see that these feelings of lust will leave your mind and your body.
What happens when church leaders masturbate?
As long as someone does the works of the flesh, the person is bound to the flesh. Knowing this, how can a pastor, reverend, elder, pastoral caretaker, or other church leader, who is bound to the flesh by a spirit of lust, deliver others from a demonic spirit of lust? That’s impossible!
If a church leader masturbates and preaches to the congregation, then the spirit of lust that controls the preacher’s life will be transferred to the hearers. When a person comes for help, and the church leader prays and lays hands on the person, this spirit of lust will be transferred into his life.
Church leaders should not be carnal and should not be slaves of the flesh and live in sin. But church leaders should live holy and walk as mature sons of God after the Spirit in righteousness in obedience to God and His Word.
How can church leaders lead, guide, and correct the congregation if their own life is one big mess? How can they preach sanctification, if they don’t live holy lives?
And how can they walk after the Spirit if they keep walking after the flesh fulfilling the lusts and desires of their flesh?
If you are born again and the Spirit of God abides in you, then you shall not walk after the flesh anymore, but you shall walk after the Spirit as the new creation (Romans 8:9)
When you masturbate and satisfy your carnal sexual feelings, you obey your flesh and are still a slave of your flesh (Romans 8:12).
God is a holy God. God expects from His sons and daughters, who are born of Him and have His Holy Spirit abiding in them, that they obey God and walk holy because they have the nature of their Father.
May single Christians masturbate?
May single Christians masturbate? The fact that someone is single doesn’t give someone the right to masturbate. Whatever the world and other so-called Christians say. A single Christian has no exceptional position to keep doing the works of the flesh and satisfy carnal lusts and desires. Single Christians have to lay down the works of the flesh, including masturbation.
If you are a single Christian and you masturbate on sexual images, thoughts, and fantasies, you defile your mind and commit adultery.
Paul said the following, Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:1-2)
Defraud you not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency (1 Corinthians 7:5-6)
Although this applies to marriage, this principle of temptation applies to every Christian.
When satan tempts you with feelings of sexual lust and desire and you are unable to master these feelings then the Bible says you have a lack of self-control (incontinence (Read also: Can you resist the temptation?)).
It’s therefore important to crucify the will, lusts, and desires of the flesh and to put off the old man and put on the new man and walk after the Spirit.
When you walk after the Spirit, you shall not fulfill the lust and desires of the flesh.
A married person cares for things of the world (to please the spouse). An unmarried person cares for the things of the Lord. How the person may please the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32).
How do you reign over sexual feelings?
When you are not married and walk after the Spirit, you shall care for the things of the Kingdom of God. As long as you stay focused upon the Kingdom of God and seek those things that are above, instead of the things that are in this world, you won’t be bothered with sexual unclean thoughts, fantasies, or feelings of lust.
That’s how you reign over sexual feelings, by walking after the Spirit and seeking the things that are above and by being busy with the things of the Kingdom of God.
When you are single, and you wrestle with sexual feelings of lust, that will lead to masturbation, then it’s important to ask yourself, with what things do you feed your mind? Do you feed your mind with the Word (reading and studying the Bible), and the things of the Kingdom of God? Or do you feed your mind with the entertainment and the things of this world? (Read also: Let me entertain you!)
The church of Christ should live holy and righteous
They that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (Galatians 5:24)
The Body of Christ should live holy and righteous. The Church ought to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Many sexual impurities take place in the body of Christ, whereby many churches have been defiled.
It happens regularly, that pastors, preachers, worship leaders, pastoral caretakers, or other leaders or members of the church watch porn, masturbate, commit adultery, fornication, have homosexual relationships, sexually abuse children, etc. Why does this happen? Because they are carnal and controlled by a spirit of lust and led by carnal feelings of lust and desire.
All these sexual unclean works of the flesh take place among church leaders and church members because they are not truly born again.
They haven’t crucified their flesh in Christ. They may say hey are born again and have crucified their flesh in Christ, but their actions speak louder than their words.
If they keep walking after the flesh, they are led by the flesh. (Read also: ‘What does the Bible say about homosexuality?‘ and ‘Did you know what happened in the city of Gibeah‘).
Fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:3-5)
If the flesh (with the affections and lusts) is crucified, which means that the flesh is dead, how can a person walk in it? You can only walk in it if the flesh is not dead but alive.
God wants your sanctification
God wants your sanctification. Because that is the will of God, that you abstain from fornication, that you know how to possess your vessel in sanctification and honour and not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles, who know not God (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)
That unbelievers masturbate is normal, because they belong to the world and don’t know God and live without Him. They live from their fallen state and walk after the flesh in submission to the will, lusts, and desires of their flesh.
But a child of God, who is born of His Spirit, has crucified the flesh with all the lusts and desires, and shall no longer walk as a slave of their flesh as a sinner and live in sin. But they will rule over their flesh (Read also: Let sin no longer reign as king in your life!).
What does the Bible say about masturbation? Why Is masturbation a sin?
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 John 2;16)
What does the Bible say about masturbation? Is masturbation a sin? According to what is written above and the Scriptures, we can conclude that masturbation is a sin. Masturbation is a work of the flesh. Therefore masturbation is against the will of God and His Word.
When you masturbate you have sexual intercourse with yourself, with your flesh. Your flesh screams and demands to be sexually satisfied and you give what your flesh wants.
If the Bible says, that a child of God should not walk after the flesh; after his carnal lusts and desires, how can a child of God masturbate? Masturbation is a sexual act that derives from feelings of the flesh and is a work of the flesh. Masturbation is an act of obedience to the flesh.
The new life in Jesus Christ
Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17)
Life in Jesus Christ is not a religion that exists of following all kinds of rules and regulations you add unto your life, so that you will go to heaven (Read also: Religion or relation?).
If you have repented, then you don’t want to live the way you lived before your repentance.
When you are baptized into the dead of Christ and your spirit is raised from the dead and you receive the baptism with the Holy Ghost, your nature has changed.
The sinful nature of the devil that is present in the flesh and has always reigned in your life is put off and is replaced by a new holy nature of God that is present in the spirit.
You and your life will change because God’s Holy Spirit dwells in you. And as long as you submit to Jesus Christ and walk in obedience to the Word after the Spirit, you shall do His will and do what pleases Him.
God shall never approve the works of the flesh
Unfortunately, many Christians are not willing to lay down their flesh with its lusts and desires. Therefore, they adjust and change the words of God, so that they can keep walking after the flesh fulfilling the will, lusts, and desires of the flesh, and live like the world, without feeling condemned. (Read also: Will God change His will for the lusts and desires of people?).
But even if preachers approve of masturbation and say that it doesn’t matter that you masturbate, many times they say this because they masturbate, God shall never approve the works of the flesh God shall never bless sin. Therefore God shall not approve of masturbation. Because masturbation is a work of the flesh and not of the Spirit.
God is very clear in His Word. No matter what people, who call themselves Christians, say, including preachers, theologians, prophets, etc. God’s Word is and remains the truth and stands forever! In the end, it’s the Word of God that shall judge everyone according to his or her works.
If you obey the flesh and keep doing the works of the flesh you shall serve the devil and exalt and glorify him instead of God (Read also: The power of the devil is powered by sin)
‘Be the salt of the earth’
