Kristopher

I registered so I could comment on this discussion:

There are several things about this discussion that "muddy up the water," so to speak. I believe many people leave this up to their own personal convictions because there is no clear delineation in The Bible that says "Thou shalt not masturbate."

In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes:

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave that that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

This may not refer directly to sexual urges or temptations, but it shows that throughout our 'race,' we are to take control of our bodies and make our bodies a slave to our minds.

In Romans 6:19, Paul writes:

"I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness."

Humanity today (and modern Psychology) will tell you that your human 'urges' are 'natural' and masturbation is a completely normal process and outcome of those urges.
I'm not saying that masturbation is a sin... I can't judge that - only God can judge that. What I am saying is that it represents you still being a slave to your body. We should follow what the Bible says:

Romans 12:2
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Stop conforming and be transformed. Our bodies are merely temporary, and ignoring the lusts of the flesh is (while very difficult at times), a very rewarding journey.

adam person

hopefully you made me as your referral =D

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Administrator

Kristopher, thank you for the analysis and quotes to scripture. I believe your interpretation is well guided.

LFJC

Thats a pretty far stretch to interpret it that way. Arent we all slaves to the body's other urges? We eat, drink, sleep, sneeze, use the restroom, etc all at the urging of our bodies. Why is this particular one any different? Because of the moral implications of ... (searches for delicate term)... using that part of the body with someone else?

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"Fossils came to exist during the flood. So did oil and all that. Dinosaurs lived with man, and were called dragons until the 1800s" <--Fanatical Theory ,2008

Kristopher

The other bodily functions you mention are requisites for continuing to exist (minus sneezing *shrug*). Contrary to popular belief, life will go on if you never get to have sex

God specifically talks about morality and sexual sins in the Bible. He says that someone who sins sexually sins against their own body.

1 Corinthians 6:18 - "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."

The Bible never says that eating, sleeping (unless you're a sluggard), or using the restroom are sins. There's nothing immoral about eating the wrong kinds of food - Jesus even says that it's not what goes into someone's mouth that makes them unclean, but it's what comes OUT of someone's mouth.

Matthew 15:11 - "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"

James further explores this by talking about taming the tongue.

James 3:3-12 - "When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt [fn] water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

LFJC

I dont know that that quote is directed specifically or even inclusively to the subject at hand. If one "sins sexually" ,that could presume anything, most likely adultery, that that sin, whatever it may be, is a sin against the body. That quote does not define what specific sexual activity is a sin, or even if masterbation is included in that term. I think sometimes people use that quote because it contains "sex, sin, and body" in the same sentence, but in reality it does in no way define the sexual sin in question.

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"Fossils came to exist during the flood. So did oil and all that. Dinosaurs lived with man, and were called dragons until the 1800s" <--Fanatical Theory ,2008