MASTURBATION - WHY ARE WE AFRAID TO ADDRESS THIS TOPIC IN THE CHURCH?

[HOPE - Psalm 43:5]

MASTURBATION - WHY ARE WE AFRAID TO ADDRESS THIS TOPIC IN THE CHURCH?




Is this one of the "taboo" topics where you worship?

Do you or does your Pastor or Ministry leader dare talk about such things with the Body of Believers??

And if we don't teach the people about the various sub-topics under Sex/Sexual Relationships, then where will they get the information from? Will it be a godly source?

Why do a lot of leaders give the impression that sex education is for teenagers and young adults and singles and should not also include the milddle aged and senior citizens who are also dabbling or habitually paticipating in sexual immorality of ANY kind?

Is this a topic that we are embarrassed to even discuss here on BPN??

ALSO.....


Many Belivers refer to masturbation as "Onanism"

According to the text in Genesis 38, after God had killed Onan's older brother Er, Judah asked Onan to have sex with Tamar, Er's widow, so that the offspring could be declared Er's heir. Onan had sex with Tamar, but performed coitus interruptus each time, spilling his "seed" (semen) on the ground, so that there would not be any offspring which he could not claim as his own. The passage states that this displeased God, who killed him.

Why was God upset with Onan? Is it what we have attributed to Onan's name or could it have been something else?

What are your thoughts and/or comments?

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

Good post Sis. YahWeh,

I must copy and add to my collection of study notes.

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

ZealotX,

Are you saying that it was ok for a MARRIED man to look at a UNMARRIED woman?

Isn't "lust" itself an act of sin?

[Zealot X]

no, lust itself is not an act of sin.

Deuteronomy 12:20
When YHWH thy G-d shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

Deuteronomy 14:26
And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before YHWH thy G-d, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

Take a look at Proverbs 6

24To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.
25Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
26For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adultress will hunt for the precious life.


Now... from Proverbs we can see that ADVICE/WISDOM is given against lusting after certain kinds of women. Does that mean it is against the law to marry a whore? Not at all. But in life there is cause and effect, action and reaction, you reap what you sow. The consequence of doing something lawful will not necessarily have a positive outcome. You can do all the right things with your spouse. That doesn't mean he wont beat you if he is violent by nature. YHWH does not make everything into a law but expects us to use our own wisdom and judgment. Solomon could have used his own advice. But it says these certain kinds of women you should not lust after. This is wisdom, not a law. There is no law against lust. It is simply unwise to lust after the wrong women and it may be criminal to lust after a woman who is MARRIED because she belongs to someone else and you risk the potential consequence of hurting that person. In your heart, you ARE hurting that person. It's all about intent when it comes to the things you think in your mind.


John 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

It seems like Paul demonizes lust itself but I think that has to be kept in context. The context here in John 8 are the lusts of the devil. In other words, these are particular things that they want which is in line with what the devil wants. But he wasn't saying that lust is of the devil but that the devil has certain lusts. Not all lust is good which is why there is such a negative stigma on the word.

Examples of particular kinds of lust, providing specific contexts in which lust is spoken of in the NT:

1 Timothy 6:9
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

2 Timothy 2:22
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2 Timothy 3:6
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Titus 2:12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

In greek the word for lust used in Titus is epithumia {ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah}

which can mean any of the following:
desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust For Synonyms see entry 5845

We all have "desires" but we do not always desire good things. Some of our desires are foolish, some worldy. As an exercise I would suggest reading a number of texts substituting the word "desire" or "craving" or "longing" in for "lust". I mean there are many women who crave chocolate. Often wine can be a craving. Pregnant women aren't sinning just because their bodies desire or crave certain things. That is just natural so that they can feed their baby all the calories and nutrients it needs. Their are natural cravings and then there are unnatural/corrupt desires that lead to evil because we're always fulfilling wants, needs, and desires. Before you do something evil you probably desired it first in your mind. Lust is simply a part of life.... like fear or anger. They exist for a good purpose but, like everything good, can be used for evil.


Shalom

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

Zealot said In greek the word for lust used in Titus is epithumia {ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah}

which can mean any of the following:
desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust For

Zealot , I want to point out that there is a difference between desire and lust

The scripture James 4:2 states Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

desires we all have, but lust is a strong desire, a craving, I agree that the object of this lust may not always be wrong, but when a desire of this type gets to this level it becomes dangerous in the sense that the thing that we must desire the most according to Proverbs 11:23 must be in the will of God

The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath, we have to be careful where our desires take us.

[Archbishop Trevor 'Elihu' Greene]

Simply put: Lust must harnessed and be directed. Lust after righteousness, lust after doing good for another in the name of the LORD. Chase that like its crack!!!

Don't lust after a naked woman thats not your wife.

[HOPE - Psalm 43:5]

I like to ancitipate questions that the "man on the street - Average Joe" might ask. So...

QUESTION #1 - can a person lust after their spouse? (a harnessed or directed lust ??? similar to what you've mentioned Trevor.. lust after righteousness etc.)

QUESTION #2 - if we are to lust after good things, then why is lust considered bad?

QUESTION #3 - is lust in and of itself wrong if you should lust after things like righteousness or a spouse or even a strong desire for God?


(2 Cor 10:5 - always remember to think about what you're thinking about)

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

1. Spouses are suppose to be in love with one another, they have a desire for each other, why would you lust for what you have?

2. We are not encouraged to lust, but if we do, it should be for those things of righteousness

3 In and of itself it's not wrong, just like liquor, however it can cause you to sin. We must discipline ourselves to seek first the kingdom of God and all the other things will be added unto us.

[Archbishop Trevor 'Elihu' Greene]

#1- Yes they can. In fact, they should! Its healthy and needed.

#2- Lust in itself is not bad, its where it is directed. The Bible never condemned lusting, it condemned lusting after the wrong things.

#3- Same answer for question 2.

[Hezekiah Ben Israel]

Zealot X has a great understanding of the scriptures. He is just throwing out there what was done in the days of old. I don't see anything wrong with any of his posts. I don't agree because of my personal beliefs on Adultery, but he makes great point. Please read all of his posts before you pass judgment on him. You can learn a great deal from him. I have.

[Chaplain Pat Harris]

Welcome back Pastor Darby.

I do hope you have the time to continue joining us on some of these threads. It is indeed a blessing to receive some fresh oil.

Blessings to you

[Chandra Cole]

Just out of curiosity, Zealot X, are you a Pasor, Prophet, etc? You have some great and strong views.

[Chandra Cole]

I read where one person strongly disagreed with this thread, but continues to comment on it... I'm just saying! This issue is much needed, so I'm all for it. God discusses everything we can think of in His word, so why can't we. He DID say in His word to go out into all the nations and preach the gospel. Sexuality is part of the gospel. Now, as for the young christians reading this, maybe, just maybe, this will keep them from sleeping around, just as it will help us 'older' christians. God doesn't want us to do things that defiles the temple of the body, and although He does not go into deep detail anywhere in the Word about what those things are, we know what hurts our bodies (the temple). In my own opinion, I dont see where MASTURBATION defiles the temple? I mean it doesn't give us cancer (like cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs), or kill us (like AIDS), or make us unhealthy (like over eating)... Until I am given solid evidence to say that it is wrong, my belief will remain the same. Nevertheless, I continue to ask God for knowledge and understanding in all areas that I'm not sure of, or understanding of (masturbation being one of those things). Great post Sister Hope!