Subject: 2 followups, masturbation and 1Cor7:2-5 |
Bible Note: 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 |