By Gini and James.
Hello, everyone biggrin Well, well, well…I didn’t exactly want to do a sermon on this….but I think the Lord insisted…So! I asked Gini for help on this. I think the Lord intends to have both an adult and teenaged opinion and life situation in this sermon. I hope that this is helpful and maybe brings you closer to Christ Jesus.
Well…I’m embarrassed to talk about this…so please give me a few moments to really gather what to say.
Ok, I’m not experienced at all in this subject. Not a little bit. However, I am a human being, and because of that, I do have a sex drive. I do have that basic need and crave to one day have sexual relations with a woman. And you know? I’ll enjoy it. Not just for the spiritual aspect of it, but for all of it. I don’t think there’s a single person on this earth who doesn’t enjoy the thought or idea of sex. Man or woman, we all enjoy it, one way or another. That’s not necessarily sinful. The Lord has placed these drives in us for a reason. It’s not to torture us and make us defiled, but for much greater, intimate reasons. However, that sex drive can be disastrous and wrong when practiced in the wrong ways.
*Awkward giggle* You know, like I said, I’m not at all experienced in this field. But I shall try my best to write this without throwing a laughing fit of awkwardness. And I’ll try my best to not die of embarrassment. That’d be something, dying from talking about sex in the Bible *resisting urge to write a random scene*.
Ok, time to get serious!
So, what exactly does the Bible say about sex? What does the Lord think of our wanting for sexual acts to be done to us? That varies, it seems. Sex is a gift from God. He invented it for us to enjoy. It’s an intimate way to express love between a husband and a wife. The Lord smiles at that I’m sure. Throughout all of the “Songs of Solomon”, it talks about just how special sex within marriage is and how important it is for true love to exist. Sex is special. The Lord made it that way. He also made it for us to procreate and expand. In "Genesis", He commanded us to multiply
(Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.")
Also, I’m sure He made it so that we’d enjoy the sexual release that comes from it. Is that all sinful? Certainly not. God made sex. It is His will for us to have it and love it. The same goes for physical attraction. Physical attraction is not sinful. God made you attracted to the opposite sex and that’s OK. I say, don’t be all ashamed of the fact you’re attracted to somebody else. Don’t think you’re wicked because you have a sex drive. You’re not wicked. The Lord said, “Be fruitful and increase in number”. You all know how that is done.
Malachi 2:15-16 (Amplified Bible)
15And did not God make [you and your wife] one [flesh]? Did not One make you and preserve your spirit alive? And why [did God make you two] one? Because He sought a godly offspring [from your union]. Therefore take heed to yourselves, and let no one deal treacherously and be faithless to the wife of his youth.
The Lord says for married couple to go ahead and you know what. Sex within marriage is a blessing, not a curse.
Hebrews 13:4 (King James Version)
4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
Woah….when I first read that, I was shocked. When a couple is married, no matter what they do sexually, it’s undefiled (with each other, of course) yes, they can do anything to each other…even the weird stuff *shudders*. That means any form of sex with each other…whether it’s oral (is very embarrassed to say this!) or…any of the other stuff, is Ok within marriage.
So, sex isn’t evil or wrong. It is good.
However, sex and physical attraction can be made evil. Sex can be defiled. Sex can hurt others. Sex can be abused. Sex can degrade the opposite sex. Sex can hurt The Lord.
What makes sex and physical attraction defiled? Various things can. Where to begin?
As you all know, sex is sacred to marriage. Anything sexual outside of that is a sin against not only God, but against your own body (Please, Gini, add a verse here that talks about that). When you have sex with somebody outside of marriage, you do cause harm. You pained the Lord, and you caused your body pain. It doesn’t matter how close the person is to you. Why is this, do you think? I don’t know exactly. I think it’s because God intended it for marriage and love, not hormonal lust. Sex is something so special, it is defiled when it’s not practiced between two people who love each other and are married. It’s meaningless when two people hook up and just go crazy on each other.
Why is marriage so important? Marriage is the joining of both a man and a woman. They become one in marriage. They’ve shown that they are crazy for each other, and that they want to be together forever. When that happens, sexual sin doesn’t apply when they are expressing physical love. They’ve done what the Lord intends, which is to have sex when it’s special and meaningful and when they’ve become one. The Lord loves that when they’ve become one. The Lord is love, and He wants us to love each other. When He’s joined to people together in complete and total love, He wants them to express it.
Real quickly, what’s so important about love, especially love within marriage?
Corinthians 13:4-8 (Amplified Bible)
4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy ([a]the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
Love is KEY to everything! If it weren’t for the most awesome love of God, we wouldn’t have been created. If it weren’t for love, Christ wouldn’t have come and died for our sins. If it weren’t for love, a mother and father wouldn’t care for their children. If it weren’t for love, and husband and wife wouldn’t ever have companionship. If it weren’t for love, nothing would be at all good. The Lord is love. Think about that. He didn’t just create it, HE IS love. He made us with the stuff. The devil can corrupt it, but even so, we are made of love. Love is so important, more important than anything besides the Lord. Now, that’s something. Love is something I want to run on. And since God is love, that would mean I’d be running on God.
Here’s the first chapter of “Songs of Solomon”
Song of Solomon 1
1THE SONG of songs [the most excellent of them all] which is Solomon's.(A)
2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! [she cries. Then, realizing that Solomon has arrived and has heard her speech, she turns to him and adds] For your love is better than wine!
3[And she continues] The odor of your ointments is fragrant; your name is like perfume poured out. Therefore do the maidens love you.
4Draw me! We will run after you! The king brings me into his apartments! We will be glad and rejoice in you! We will recall [when we were favored with] your love, more fragrant than wine. The upright [are not offended at your choice, but sincerely] love you.
5I am so black; but [you are] lovely and pleasant [the ladies assured her]. O you daughters of Jerusalem, [I am as dark] as the tents of [the Bedouin tribe] Kedar, like the [beautiful] curtains of Solomon!
6[Please] do not look at me, [she said, for] I am swarthy. [I have worked out] in the sun and it has left its mark upon me. My stepbrothers were angry with me, and they made me keeper of the vineyards; but my own vineyard [my complexion] I have not kept.
7[Addressing her shepherd, she said] Tell me, O [a]you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon. For why should I [as I think of you] be as a veiled one straying beside the flocks of your companions?(B)
8If you do not know [where your lover is], O you fairest among women, run along, follow the tracks of the flock, and [amuse yourself by] pasturing your kids beside the shepherds' tents.
9O my love [he said as he saw her], you remind me of my [favorite] mare in the chariot spans of Pharaoh.
10Your cheeks are comely with ornaments, your neck with strings of jewels.
11We will make for you chains and ornaments of gold, studded with silver.
12While the king sits at his table [she said], my spikenard [my absent lover] sends forth [his] fragrance [over me].
13My beloved [shepherd] is to me like a [scent] bag of myrrh that lies in my bosom.
14My beloved [shepherd] is to me a cluster of henna flowers in the vineyards of En-gedi [famed for its fragrant shrubs].
15Behold, you are beautiful, my love! Behold, you are beautiful! You have doves' eyes.
16[She cried] Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved [shepherd], yes, delightful! Our arbor and couch are green and leafy.
17The beams of our house are cedars, and our rafters and panels are cypresses or pines.
That entire book is about the love between a husband and wife. It’s beautiful the way this was written. God didn’t just make us to love Him. He made us to love each other. Whether you love somebody as a friend or just because they’re a person, or because they’re your mother or father, or because you love somebody with romantic intent, God made us to be in love with each other. Loving God is BY FAR the most important
(Deuteronomy 6:5 (Amplified Bible) 5And you shall love the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being and with all your might.)
and He expects that from those who believe in Him, but He still wants us to love each other SO FREAKING much and to one day fall in love (unless He wills otherwise, but that’s up to Him). If nobody fell in love with each other, there would most likely be no marriage (unless of course they marry for the wrong reason). Without marriage, there would be no right way to have sex. If there’s no right way to have sex, we sin. What does sin lead to? Only death. Though we have Jesus Christ, the Lord doesn’t want us to sin. So, He definitely wants us to fall in love. Marriage void of true love is pointless and miserable. Marriage within true love is grand and beautiful. Marriage without love leads to divorce. Divorce leads to adultery
(Luke 16:18 (Amplified Bible) 18Whoever divorces (dismisses and repudiates) his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.)
I’ll cover adultery a bit later in the sermon, but we all know that’s sinful.
Love for another human being is precious. The Lord encourages you to love!
True love between two people cannot die. It can’t. The Lord won’t let it!
Of course, we are to love God the most. That means that we are to give Him the best of our love. But does that mean we give others the left-overs? No! We give others genuine, pure, awesome love, which the Lord gives us to feel for each other. That love is the second most important love…Hehe….I really, really need to memorize the Scripture. There’s a verse somewhere in the Gospel where Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul (meaning, that’s the most important). Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Those are the two most important commands. All throughout the Bible, the Lord says to make your spouse happy. He says to spend time with your spouse and love your spouse with all your heart. So, have a great time with your spouse! Love your spouse and make your spouse happy (as well as your spouse making you happy). Have great times together! Not only your spouse, but have great times with people period (Of course, that love is different than the love for you spouse, but even so). Have a blast and love and think about and have fun with others. Just remember, the Lord comes first. That’s all.
Phhheww! Ok, back to the sermon.
Jesus said that looking at another person with lust in our hearts is just as sinful as the actual act. Keeping that in mind, is there a single person on God’s green Earth that hasn’t sinned sexually? Haven’t we all given into lust? I think so. I haven’t heard of a single person short of Jesus Christ who was also God who hasn’t lusted after someone else. So, in those terms, we are all guilty of this. I am for surely. But don’t think just because you’ve screwed up sexually, whether mentally or physically that you’re now a terrible person who The Lord freaking hates with all His spirit. He definitely doesn’t. Jesus didn’t come to judge the world. He came to save it. A sin is a sin in the eyes of the Lord, and just because we’ve all fallen short doesn’t mean the Lord wants us dead. He wants quite the opposite. He wants you to live! Live, dang it, live! Go to Him when you’ve sinned. He will make you clean again. However, does that mean we can sin whenever the heck we feel like? No. To truly love God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, you must try not to hurt Him. Sinning hurts God. Letting yourself give into Satan every time he says, “Do this!” is going to hurt God, and later you will be judged for it. Jesus gave us the power to fight off temptation. No matter how much your body wants you to fool around, you can say no. Just say no! Say it out loud if you gotta. The Devil flees from the power of Christ. If you say, “NO! I WON’T IN THE NAME OF CHRIST!” The devil will go, “Let’s get out of here! Forget this one, Jesus is coming!”. Jesus has given us the power to trample on scorpions and serpents
(Luke 10:19 [Amplified Bible] 19 Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you.)
We all fall short. We all lust. We have all sinned sexually, but we can say no and not do it anymore. There is hope. That hope is for all of us no matter what, in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 5:27-29 (Amplified Bible)
27You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.(A)
28But I say to you that everyone who so much as looks at a woman with evil desire for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29If your right eye serves as a trap to ensnare you or is an occasion for you to stumble and sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be cast into hell (Gehenna).
What exactly is lust? Is it the need for sex, or the disregard for God’s commands about sex? It is when you wish to have relations with somebody besides your husband or wife. When you look at somebody besides your spouse and wish to have sex with them, you have lusted. When you look at your spouse, whom you love with all your heart, and wish to have sexual relations, however, that is not lust. That is Godly.
I know that there have been people who judge others because they sin. By people, I mean other Christians. I know a lot of people who were judged by others because they had committed sexual sin. That is absolutely wrong of them to do. We all sin. You can say no and not sin for the most part, but you will fall short, whether you sin everyday or every other year. So, for somebody to judge somebody else for sexually sinning, doesn’t matter how he or she sinned sexually, is wrong. Nobody is better than anybody else, ladies and gentlemen. We must fight sin and keep ourselves from doing it, but if we do sin, we are still people who are loved by God. Through Christ Jesus, we are made right with God. . Even Hitler, who murdered millions, can be made right with God through Christ. Does God hate Hitler? No. Does he hate what Hitler did? HELL YES! Sexual sin is no different
Deuteronomy 22:25-27
25But if a man finds the betrothed maiden in the open country and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.
26But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no sin punishable by death, for this is as when a man attacks and slays his neighbor,
27For he came upon her in the open country, and the betrothed girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.
There are times when sex is used to physically harm another. Forced sex is one of the most evil things out there. Rape causes so much pain and life long damage it’s not at all something that should be taken lightly. It is horrible. I remember this movie called A Clock Work Orange that had very graphic scenes of rape in it. Of course, this was only a movie, so it wasn’t really happening, but even so, it was horrible. In that movie, they had this scene where a woman was being brutally beaten and gang raped. This woman, this person, was screaming for mercy and they didn’t stop. She was being degraded, humiliated, and beaten by men who didn’t care how they had sex. That movie disturbed me so much I had to leave the room. I couldn’t watch it. Rape sickens me. It’s just so wrong. Think of what the Lord is like whenever He sees things like this happen. I’m sure He’s thrown into furious anger.
Rape scars people for life. Somebody who thought the victim to be nothing more than a sex object took the victims innocence, and they hurt afterward. The Lord heals all wounds, but even so, I’m sure that’s a wound that takes a while to heal over. It’s so…my God, the very thought makes me gag and feel sad. Even if the person was already no longer innocent sexually, it’s still just as wrong. Looking back at "Genesis", Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, was raped by a man who was quite unable to express love the right way. This man, Shechem, had fallen in love with Dinah and because of this, he raped her. Obviously Dinah didn’t want that to happen. When Sheckem’s father came to Jacob’s sons and asked them what they have to do in order for Sheckem to gain Dinah as a wife, Jacob’s sons told him that all the males must get circumcised. This, however, was a trick. When all the males had been circumcised, Jacob’s sons went into the village where Sheckem and his father were in and slaughtered every male. They then took whatever they wanted, and took all the women and children. When Jacob grieved over this to his sons, Jacob’s sons replied, “Was it right for Sheckem to treat our sister like a prostitute?” That entire passage tells us what the effects of rape are like. To tell you the truth, if somebody raped my sisters or my mother, or my friends or my spiritual sisters, or my future wife or daugher/daughters, I’d be so angry and sad I’d be tempted without a doubt to do what Jacob’s sons did to Sheckem. It will cause damage far beyond the victim’s pain. Rape is ugly and sinful. Hands down.
Of course, we are required to love even a rapist. We are to stop them and keep them from doing that to others, but we are to love them anyhow. I do not know what it’s like to have to forgive somebody who has raped you. I know a few of you do know what it’s like to do that. I can imagine, though, that it would be extremely difficult. There are consequences for every action. You do something nice for somebody else; chances are you’re going to have good things happen for you. You do something horrible to somebody; you’re going to feel repercussions. You reap what you sow. A rapist will reap what he sows. But even so, Jesus will forgive that person if he comes to Him, truly grieved for what he had done, and genuinely asks for forgiveness. We are to do the same if we are to be like Jesus. But, of course, NEVER EVER let that person do such evils to you. Never ever let that person do such evils to anyone. The Lord loves them just as much as anyone else, but He certainly hates their sin. The Lord will protect you, as promised, and that means that you defend yourself. Self-defense is different than wrath; wrath is hateful revenge for something done. Self-defense is to protect you and others from being harmed. There are times to turn the other cheek, and there are times to defend yourself. The Lord will let you know when you are to do either one.
I don’t know what the Bible says about this, but in my personal opinion, sex between children or sex between an adult and a child is very, very wrong. I’m sure that’s the opinions of most other as well. It is very wrong in my eyes. First off, if two children have sexual relations, not only did they sin because they made love before marriage, but they probably didn’t even know what they were doing, and the effects of what they had done. They had surrendered their innocence. Children are awesome. I love children with a passion. For the most part, children are innocent. They are examples of Christ’s very being. Heck, they’re probably the closest to being as innocent as Christ. Their innocence can be corrupted, and that’s so unfortunate and just plain maddening. Nowadays, you can’t seem to go to a public place and not see a 10-year-old girl dressed in a mini, mini skirt, and has a big slab of make up on her face. You know exactly why she’s wearing that stuff. It’s sad what happened to the innocence there. Then you got adults who think it’s ok to court with children. Like I said, I don’t know what it says in the Bible about this, but in my opinion (which really doesn’t matter, but I’ll give it to you anyway) it’s very wrong for an adult to court with a child. Why do I say this? Because Children are undeveloped. They don’t think about stuff like sex, that’s the last this on their mind. Their bodies are not ready for that type of thing. For an adult to take advantage of that, especially since children are innocent until corrupted, is very maddening to me. However, doesn’t matter what I think. Whatever it says in the Bible, I don’t know. I’ll have to keep reading and find out. Unless someone wants to spoil it for me…which I’d actually MUCH rather prefer. I can’t stand suspense! gonk
I like this quite a lot. Lala said this to me last night.
Quote:
I would explain the child/adult thing the same way you did. It is DISPICABLE first off because of the things you listed. God Hates fornication. That's what that is. Now, immature children cannot be married and therefore if molested are stolen from.
It's wrong. The end.
It's wrong. The end.
Always, remember, though, that forgiveness is key for all people.
Deut 22:22
22 If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
Adultery. I can only guess what that’s like for the spouse who was cheated on. In “Proverbs”, Solomon says that no body would blame a man for stealing if he steals to feed his starving family but the thief would have to pay for it. But when somebody commits adultery, that’s something different. It causes such rage and anger that there will be no mercy from the husband (or wife) who was cheated on. It’s very heart breaking. When somebody commits adultery, they’ve broken the love vow between the husband and wife, and they’ve shown that they don’t truly love the one they cheated on. Not only that, in the very commandments handed to us by The Lord, it says that we are not to commit adultery. Adultery, as well as all sin, leads to death. A man and a woman caught in adultery were stoned to death outside city limits before Christ came. Thank the Lord Jesus came, for if He hadn’t, all people would surely die. Adultery is no harmless sin. It’s very harmful, not only emotionally, but also spiritually and physically. I can’t possible comprehend what it’s like. I’ve never been in a situation like that. I’m sure it’s the worst, however…
John 8 (Amplified Bible)
1BUT JESUS went to the Mount of Olives.
2Early in the morning (at dawn), He came back into the temple [[a]court], and the people came to Him in crowds. He sat down and was teaching them,
3When the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of the court and put the case before Him.
4Teacher, they said, This woman has been caught in the very act of adultery.
5Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such [women--offenders] shall be stoned to death. But what do You say [to do with her--what is Your sentence]?(A)
6This they said to try (test) Him, hoping they might find a charge on which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger.
7However, when they persisted with their question, He raised Himself up and said, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.
8Then He bent down and went on writing on the ground with His finger.
9They listened to Him, and then they began going out, conscience-stricken, one by one, from the oldest down to the last one of them, till Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing there before Him in the center of the court.
10When Jesus raised Himself up, He said to her, Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you?
11She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more.
This is just a friendly reminder of the fact Jesus didn’t come to condemn, but to save. Yay JESUS!
What next? Let’s see…physical attraction. Finding somebody beautiful is not at all sinful. I really had to ask about this to many people. When you find somebody attractive, you’re not sinning. The Lord made us all beautiful. I’m sure He likes it when we admire His Devine work in making us. However, this can lead to bad things. So, you find a woman/man attractive. Wow, she/he looks really nice and is very pretty….I wonder. Oopps! Bad lustful thought! It came out of nowhere. Hmmm…but he/she’s just so beautiful! Another lustful thought…You know what? I’m gonna keep thinking this!
Be careful what you eyes and mind do to you. Jesus said it is better to take out your eye than to sin and be cast into hell. Pretty hard teaching, huh? It’s all right to find somebody good looking, but thoughts that it can lead up to can pervert it. Be careful!
Then there’s the fact that you can let sex run your life. Before about 4 years ago, I was one of those guys that are like, “I’d love to do her!” Icck….I really beat myself up for my old behavior. I need to learn how forgive myself for that. That type of behavior is immature and degrading. Man or woman, you’re a person. Doesn’t matter what, you’re a person. You’re just as valid and human as all the rest. It’s wrong for somebody to go, “Man you’re HOT!” It’s disrespectful and degrading for somebody to view the opposite sex (and the same sex, of course) as an object instead of a human being. The Lord didn’t make us objects. He made us all people. Respect and honoring of the opposite sex is very important. God blessed us all the day He made us. Remember this!
Also, always remember the Lord COMES FIRST! He doesn’t take the back seat, He takes the wheel! He is the true love of your life. He comes first. However, you have the choice in this matter. If you choose Him over anything else, your life WILL be so much better. He is the King of Kings who loves you more than ANYTHING else. However, that doesn’t mean He didn’t intend for us to love each other like crazy. Always remember that also.
I think I’m gonna quit here. It’s getting late, and I’m THIS close to feeling really awkward. I love you all! You all rule! The Tri Force loves you SO much more! SO much! Infinity times more!
I asked Gini-chan to write a little something on masturbation. She’s been a Christian for a long time, and she’s very wise. So, here’s her section about this subject.
MASTURBATION:
WOW .... I get the FUN stuff .... thanks bro .... >just kiddin'<
The reason that I am handling the section on Masturbation goes back to my being gangraped as a small child by not only family 'friends' but relatives. So, you're a small child and you've been 'sexualized' ... what now? As much as those of us have gone through that wish that God would just wave his magic arm and cause all of that to disappear, to restore our virginity completely ..... it doesn't work that way. Once a child has had that forced upon them, no matter the age, there's a need there that isn't present until that first sexual contact.
So, why am I telling you this??? Because, it's been the biggest struggle of my life! I'm not going to tell my age .... hee hee .... 'cause I don't have to! But, I am older I'm sure than most of you. Masturbation has been something I've gone to the Lord with over and over again. First with Catholic guilt, and then with Baptist guilt. When I quit listening to people and finally ( rolleyes ) began taking it to Jesus, and asking Him for His wisdom and understanding, He started showing me stuff.
LIKE: How THERE'S NOTHING IN SCRIPTURE THAT EVEN MENTIONS MASTURBATION!! Surprized???? Do a search! The only verse used (originally by the catholic church because they wanted everyone married with a lot of kids - and that's no exaggeration! Though there have been godly heads of the catholic church, that was not always the case and in the early years it was more like the mafia - VERY corrupt and evil! >witness the Spanish Inquisition - which was actually formed to seize wealthy landowner's assets and execute them - similarly, the more children a family had, the poorer they were, and the easier to control - therefore, they made it a SIN to meet your own needs. The verse they used (and which the protestants picked up on) is a verse, and I'm tired right now, gomen, so ya'll can look it up at www.biblegateway.com if you like, I'm exhausted and have been for a few days now.
ANYWAY, it's the verse in the OT about the man whose brother had died without children, and according to Jewish law, he was to impregnate his sister-in-law so that his brother could have children through him. They would not be considered his, and his brother's inheritance would go to them, instead of the man himself, most scholars believe that's why he did the following - so that he could get the inheritance not any children, but in the middle of having sex with her, instead of impregnating her, he spilled his seed on the ground. The Lord was angry with his disobediance and the man was killed because of it. They've used this verse for centuries to say masturbation is such a bad sin, that the Lord had this man put to death for it. It wasn't masturbation AT ALL. He was actually having sex with her, but he disobeyed God by spilling his seed outside of her. Now, God doesn't punish like that today, but the issue was his DISOBEDIANCE! People have also tried to use the verse about the issues of the body (our fluids, whether sexual, spit, blood, etc.) being unclean, but that still doesn't disallow it!
I took the question to MANY Christian leaders, including Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, and Richard Roberts son of evangelist Oral Roberts - local pastors .... I checked with a bunch! Without exception, they ALL said that apparently it wasn't an important issue to God ... because He never mentioned it!!! Wow! That was surprising! After doing a complete search of the Bible just to verify that, I indeed found there were NO verses anywhere dealing with it!
I took it back to the Lord, He told me to check into the scientific/biological world for information on the subject. What I found astonished me! Not only does EVERY single animal, bird, etc. masturbate, but when I went into information on infants and old people with Alzheimer's ... I found out that they did too!!! Not only that, but even SINGLE-CELLED ANIMALS - Amoebas and such had orgasms! A release of nervous tension is really what sexual release is, although God at least with humans adds other wonderful aspects.
Okay, I went back to God, yes I prayed, yes I fasted, yes I bound the enemy to make sure I was hearing the Lord clearly, asked forgiveness of my sins and all of that, did spiritual warfare, and then asked .... okay, if this isn't wrong, then show me how I can meet the needs of my body without it entering the lust area or any area that might be wrong!
His simple answer was to simply meet my body's needs WITHOUT thinking of a real person, I could image my future husband for instance, or the general shape of a man, even geometric shapes or facts about animals, etc. ALL without coming under Jesus' words on (and NOTE THEM!) 'If you SEE A WOMAN AND LUST AFTER HER....' He had to show me that the lust involved a particular person. Like wanting someone who does not belong to you.
His answers set me free. A lot of christians may be uncomfortable with that, but I made a point when I dated someone who was Nazarene (they believe if you even lie a minute before death, though you've served Jesus ALL your life .... that you will go to hell .... my pastor was Baptist and preached that once you were saved, you're always saved, no matter what you do, you can never lose that or walk away from God) and they used the SAME VERSE (we went to his church in the morning and mine at night) they used the same verse ON THE SAME DAY! to prove their very opposite points. I came home mad, threw my bible on the bed, and said 'God, I do not want MAN'S OPINION on anything ... from now on .... I ONLY WANT YOURS!' Since that time, I go to God with everything, and have found that sometimes a lot of what we hear has no basis on scripture, it's either cultural, or a tradition, or christians have just believed that for a while.
Masturbation is not wrong. God says NOTHING about it, and you CAN meet your needs WITHOUT entering into the realm of sin.
NOW, if you have NO NEED to masturbate, HALLELUIAH!! Many virgins may not. But once that need is placed upon someone, it's usually downright impossible to ignore, I actually went about 2 yrs one time without doing it .... and was not a nice person to live with. The Lord showed me it's better to just release that nervous tension, get it over with, and go on. He didn't think it was important enough to worry about .... and you know what??? IF MY JESUS DIDN'T THINK IT WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO WORRY ABOUT .... THEN WHY SHOULD I WORRY ABOUT IT??? I had a pastor ask me one time if I thought I was better than Jesus .... I was floored and hurt .... he explained that if we continue to for instance, not forgive ourselves when He already has OR to worry about something He wasn't even concerned about, then that means we think we're better than Him .... more righteous, more spiritual. THAT was a humbling that I needed! God Bless You!!
Father, bring us into YOUR knowledge and wisdom. Not humans, not human thought ... but yours. You are so much more filled with love and compassion and understanding than we can even think, or consider or believe possible. You made us. You know all the needs we have. Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit .... please bring us into the fullness of your truth and set us free from unnecessary burdens or bondage. For yours is the Kingdom and the Glory and the Honor .... and you have somehow reached down and loved the unloveable. Thank you for your most awesome gift .... thank you that your word says that the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL things! Come Holy Spirit!!! Come in fullness and power and glory! Come and teach us and train us and make us like Jesus!! God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit .... we praise you and worship you and love you!!! In the Name, and the Power and the Blood of Jesus Christ ..... AMEN!!!
(oh, and btw? They've found that if you know what brings you pleasure, it's easier for you to teach your husband or wife!! Yatta!! God is SO good!!! And now I know, since I still have no husband - I'm waiting on Him to provide me with one .... smile .... that when it comes time to meet my own needs .... Jesus is smiling on me and telling me He loves me!!! AND .... He loves you too!! )
