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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | 2 followups, masturbation and 1Cor7:2-5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 46885 | ||
Part 1, Makarios, You have supported your position well; your interpretation of the scriptures you cite is most righteous. And your points about the potential risks associated with masturbation are insightful and important. I feel your comments deserve my best effort, so I have tried to respond in a meaningful way. Thanks for your patience with the length of my response here. (and no, I did not write this in one sitting!) I hope you will be interested in what I have to say, especially about how masturbation has been part of something good in my life, see part 1 of 3. Regarding myself, I recognize there are many who are far wiser and far more mature in Christ than I am, so I am open to what you and others have said about masturbation. Indeed, much of what you describe about purity and holiness I see happening in myself, as the Holy Spirit does His miracle in me, so to answer one of your questions, I do have a desire to grow in purity and holiness, so masturbation is not big on my list for today. In that spirit, however, I must admit I am not convinced that what you have said about masturbation, i.e. that it is always sexual immorality and sin, necessarily follows from what you have presented. I'm not saying your interpretation is wrong or that what you say cannot be accepted, indeed you may be right, but rather that it is not the only interpretation that we, as vessels for the Holy Spirit, may hold. To support this, I note that in the following 18 instances (listed in The Complete Book of Bible Lists, by H.L. Wilmington), in which sexually impure people are identified, not one is described as impure by virtue of masturbation or anything like it: Gen19:5, Gen19:30-38, Gen34:1-2, Gen35:22, Gen38:9, Gen38:14-18, Num25:6-14, Judg16:1, 1Sam2:22, 2Sam11:4, 2Sam13:14, 2Sam16:22, Hos 1-2, John 4, John 8:1-11, Luke 7:36-39, 1Cor5:1, Rev2:20. Rather, the issues are homosexuality, incest, rape, adultery, refusal to father a child by the wife of a dead brother, fornication, sex in the tabernacle and in public, and leading others to sexual immorality. Please note: I'm NOT encouraging anyone to masturbate or do anything else they feels God calls them not to do. Given this, I am concerned that the zero tolerance approach, as applied to masturbation, 1. may be a stumbling block for those who might otherwise come to faith in Christ and 2. it is not helpful to those who may be dealing with masturbation as they learn to walk with Him. Indeed, I fear it may actually be harmful to those for whom guilt over this is excessive; in addition to God's truth, they need compassionate understanding in order to fully accept God's grace and forgiveness and to be open to the process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit. I'm not suggesting masturbation should be dismissed as irrelevant, for we agree there are serious problems that can develop, as is the case for eating and drinking. Rather, I'm suggesting that since the Bible does not expressly classify masturbation as sexual immorality or sin, we should help others to deal with it in a way that does not condemn them, as per Romans 8:1 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." We can be assured of this, despite our daily failures to live pure and holy lives after coming to Christ, and it is this truth that helps us to grow toward perfection in Him as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. As I see it, I am emphasizing that those who masturbate are not necessarily condemned, i.e. not necessarily among the sexually immoral because the Bible does not say this, while you have rightly addressed the freedom we have from the law of sin and death and this is how we become pure and holy. end of part 1 of 3 |
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2 | 2 followups, masturbation and 1Cor7:2-5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Makarios | 47567 | ||
Greetings Parable, There is nothing that you have stated, nor is there anything in the Bible that can work to convince a man or woman of God that masturbation should not be considered as the immoral sexual, sinful act that it is. There is absolutely nothing righteous or "good" about the act of masturbation, and you have not yet begun to address what I have formally written on the subject. You cannot divorce what we know today as "masturbation" from the sexual immorality that is so clearly and uncompromisingly stated within Holy Scripture as being something that Christians should completely avoid. However, I do appreciate your comments, and it will be interesting to see whether or not you are able to state anything that would work to solidify or "justify" the sin of masturbation in any one of your posts. Blessings to you, Makarios |
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3 | 2 followups, masturbation and 1Cor7:2-5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Parable | 47614 | ||
Makarios, Thank you for responding in the spirit of speaking the truth in love. As I stated clearly in my posts, I am not attempting to justify masturbation nor encourage anyone to sexual sin. We agree the Bible speaks clearly with regard to sexual immorality. For those who have not read the entire thread, my posts question why the Bible does not address masturbation at all, let alone with the clarity given to fornication, adultery, incest, beastiality and homosexuality. Obviously, Makarios disagrees. I have acknowledged Paul's compromise for our weaknesses regarding continence, i.e. marriage itself and sexual activity therein. Yet also, I have acknowledged Jesus' explanation of the origin of sin, i.e. that our sinful actions spring from the content of our hearts and our obsessive thoughts are equivalent to our obsessive acts. This is consistent with the many verses Makarios has cited. I agree that masturbation is not irrelevant or problem-free; it can lead to pornography and acts which clearly are sinful. Also, it is quite possible for people to indulge themselves with masturbation in the same way they can with eating (gluttony), drinking(drunkeness), leisure (sloth) and work (neglect of other responsibilities). Yet, in the example from my own life, masturbation has been part of coping with the loss of opportunity for intimacy, perhaps as a compromise similar to Paul's compromise with marriage, to help preserve fidelity during a prolonged test of my marriage. Am I proud of masturbation? No. Am I ashamed? No. Am I falling to temptation and indulging in sin? I submit the Bible doesn't say, but I do know that over this difficult time, I have not fallen to the temptation of adultery; I have honored my committment to my wife and I praise God that he has helped me in this. (and no, I did not say God helped me to masturbate!) Finally, I admit the possibility that I have been seduced by the enemy to proudly commit a sin I don't recognize in order to avoid committing ones that I do. This is true for more than just masturbation. The answer to this is conviction by the Spirit. If I sin, I pray He will show me the truth of this and that He will do so for all who need this lesson, as all of us do. Parable |
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4 | 2 followups, masturbation and 1Cor7:2-5 | Bible general Archive 1 | inmyheart | 47633 | ||
Greetings to you my friend, I thank God that you are honest and open. I believe that God has set us free from bondage when we accepted Christ into our lives as Savior. I also believe that there are some areas of our lives that we don't easily release to Him because of our pride and denial, however The comforter, Holy Spirit, will begin to convict us of those areas in order for us to mature and lead us to our purpose and destiny (completeness). It could be easier to confess let's say, lying or stealing, and God will work in our lives to turn it around to being honest and giving. Let's not minumize our sin. Sin is sin, in the eyes of another masturbation can seem over whelming, it's still sin, not matter how we look at it. Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: FORGETTING what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward "in" Christ Jesus." So what am I really saying? I too was bound to this sinful act, just as I was also was a liar and a thief. It was easier for me to confess the later two because I could easily relate it to others without getting some course reaction as opposed to admitting my sexual sin. It was even hard for me to confess it to The Father, because of my embarrassment. I believe, all in all, I really didn't want to rid this from my life, because after all it did bring me pleasure, and the bible says that pleasure, it's only for a season, God wants to give us life and JOY. 1 Corinthians 11:28, "A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup." This sin (masturbation) held me back and prevented me to from going forward into the works of my calling. Thank God, I turned it over to Him and He gave me the breakthrough to walk on His path. I pray my friend, don't let this act stop you from obtaining what God has prepared for you. The enemy wants to rob you of your blessings. Thank you for reading this. You are the apple of God's eye. What does the Word say? I will never leave you, nor forsake you, what a promise. Your brother and friend. |
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5 | 2 followups, masturbation and 1Cor7:2-5 | Bible general Archive 1 | Makarios | 47636 | ||
Greetings Inmyheart! Thank you for having the courage to come out and state the truth that masturbation is sin! Blessings to you, Makarios |
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