I've gotten a few questions on this topic and I think that the Bible has a clear view on how God views masturbation so I thought that it was important to put this page up. I know that this can cause serious problems in a persons life if they don't understand the truth.

When I was in junior high my public school would send you to a couple of hours of sexual orientation class. In this class they would make you watch some videos that were supposed to help teach us about our bodies and what was going on in us at that time with our raging hormones and everything. One thing that I remember them telling us is that masturbation is ok and that there is nothing wrong with it. That may be the world's view but that is not God's view.

I'd like to break down this into 3 possible categories, lust, coveting, and finally immorality.

I believe that most times masterbation is lust. Lust is a desiring for something that you can't have, maybe just plain sex or maybe someone else in particular.

Here is what the Bible says about lust:

1 Peter 2:11
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.

James 1:14-15
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

2 Timothy 2:22
22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Masturbation is also coveting (lust just being a sexual form of coveting). We don't have to go very far to learn that coveting is wrong, try the 10th Commandment:

Exodus 20:17
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

I looked up what this Hebrew word, covet, means and this is the definition:

as a verb:
1) to desire, to covet, to take pleasure in, to delight in
a) to desire
b) to be desirable
c) to delight greatly, to desire greatly
as a feminine noun:
2) desirableness, preciousness

Jesus elaborated on this one too:

Matthew 5:27-28
27 "You have heard that it was said, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

So not only is masturbation lust and coveting it is also sexual, making it sexual immorality. We might ask ourselves, "what are the sexual organs made for?" and, "what context were they intended?" Was God's intention to give man or woman their own pleasure source? If God intends for sexual morality to be a man and a woman coming together in marriage is it moral for us to go about it on our own?

1 Corinthians 6:13-20
13 Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. 14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, "THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH." 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

2 Corinthians 12:21
21 I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.

Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:3-5
3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Ephesians 5:3 in the New International Version says, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people."

Colossians 3:5-8
5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Finally, I'd like to analyze our motives. We must ask ourselves the following questions:

1. Am I doing this out of faith?
2. Is this glorifying God?
3. Could I kneel down on my knees afterward and thank God?

Romans 14:23
23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.