There are no verses in the Bible dealing
with masturbation. One verse has been misinterpreted as being about
masturbation, found in Genesis 38, the story of Onan.
Judah, one of Jacob’s sons, had three
sons. The oldest, Er, was wicked and died. As was the custom, the second
brother in line, Onan, was supposed to marry Er’s wife, Tamar. But…
Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death also. Genesis 38:8-10
From the way the scene plays, it
appears Onan is having sex with Tamar, but refuses to deposit his seed into
her, defiantly choosing to only have relations with her for pleasure and not
procreation. This scene is not about masturbation as much as it is about
disobedience to family obligations and God’s plan for his life.
Onan does not want the Israelite family
line to repopulate and is showing his unwillingness to be a part of them also.
He is probably not being punished for only one thing, but for a series of sins leading
to this one incident. God is not killing Onan for masturbating (we would have
lots of dead teenage boys on this earth), but for his heart.
While this incident does not directly
deal with masturbation, masturbation deals with lust and the Bible says a lot
about lust.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Ephesians 4:19
For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 1 John 2:16
If you can masturbate without lusting,
then it is not a sin, but good luck with that.
Masturbation is self-sexual
pleasure. Too much of it puts an
emphasis on the carnal desires of life, instead of the spiritual. Masturbation leads the mind down more and
more intense areas of sexual curiosity that can be dangerous.
Galatians says a fruit of the Spirit is
self-control and that’s what is probably needed here. One has to control their sexual thoughts so
they are not led to constant self-gratification.