There is no verse or passage in the bible which mentions the word “masturbation” specifically. However, there is a verse which seems to describe the act of masturbation – and the good news is that it doesn’t forbid or condemn it.
“If semen goes out from a man, he must bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening. 17 If the fluid gets on any clothing or leather, it must be washed with water; it will be unclean until evening. 18 If a man has sexual relations with a woman and semen comes out, both people must bathe in water; they will be unclean until evening” (Lev 15:16-18 CEV).
The cause of an emission of semen in verse 16 is not specified, but it can only be a nocturnal emission or “wet dream” (Deut 23:10), or the act of masturbation. But neither of these are regarded by God as being sinful. God specifies the sexual sins in Leviticus chapter 18 and reiterates them in chapter 20, to which has been added the appropriate penalties. But masturbation is not found in these chapters – which means that God does not regard it as sin.
Further evidence that masturbation is not sinful is that in 15:16, after the emission of semen, the man is required to “bathe in water; he will be unclean until evening” – this is not a sacrifice to atone for sin; rather, it is a symbolic act, a ritual, to cleanse the man from ritual impurity.
In 15:17, we gather that it is not the act for which the ritual bath is required, but the bodily fluid which was emitted. If the semen touches anything, that thing is regarded as ritually unclean and it, too, will be unclean until the evening.
Furthermore, we see that the emission of semen in verse 15 has a different cause in verse 18, namely marital sex; some verses tie them together as if the emission of semen is caused from marital sex, but the majority view is that these 2 verses refer to 2 separate acts.
Again, ritual washing is required for a woman when she is having her monthly period:
“When a woman has her monthly period, she is unclean for seven days; anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening. 20 Anything she lies on during this time will be unclean, and everything she sits on during this time will be unclean. 21 Anyone who touches her bed must wash his clothes and bathe in water; that person will be unclean until evening. 22 Anyone who touches something she has sat on must wash his clothes and bathe in water; that person will be unclean until evening. 23 It does not matter if the person touched the woman’s bed or something she sat on; he will be unclean until evening. 24 If a man has sexual relations with a woman and her monthly period touches him, he will be unclean for seven days; every bed he lies on will be unclean” (Lev 15:19-24).
We can a better understanding of why God requires these washings when we consider what God requires from a man who has a wet dream.
“When you are camped in time of war, keep away from unclean things. 10 If a man becomes unclean during the night, he must go outside the camp and not come back. 11 But when evening comes, he must wash himself, and at sunset he may come back into the camp.
12 Choose a place outside the camp where people may go to relieve themselves. 13 Carry a tent peg with you, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your dung. 14 The Lord your God moves around through your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies for you, so the camp must be holy. He must not see anything unclean among you so that he will not leave you” (Deut 23:9-14 CEV).
So, the reason that God wants men who have emitted semen to ritually wash is because the LORD, in this example, is in the camp. The man must remove himself to outside the camp and the ritual process begins. It is the same for when a man has a dump; he is to dig a hole for the purpose and the faeces are to be covered over so that the LORD won’t see it and consequently leave the camp.
Bringing it all together
To summarise, if masturbation is sin, so are wet dreams, marital sex, a woman’s period, and defecation. But none of these are sinful in God’s sight. It is the bodily products – semen, blood, and faeces which are the problem.
Furthermore, none of these are listed as sinful and condemned practices in God’s revelation of what he regards as sin (Lev ch 18 and 20), that’s why they only require a ritual cleansing. But we can take this even further, because when Jesus came, his death abolished all the Levitical rituals because he fulfilled them in himself.
Which means – men (and women) can masturbate without guilt or fear or shame. God doesn’t mind. In fact, I intend to show next that not only are men free to masturbate, they should masturbate. Good news!
Why men should masturbate
Designed by God
The male reproductive system is a mini-factory which manufactures and produces sperm and semen 24/7. But the storage facility is small and needs to emptied frequently to make room for the continual input. The build-up makes him feel the need to ejaculate by nice feelings “down there”. If he doesn’t release it through sex or masturbation, the semen will build up until it explodes with a wet dream.
But sometimes the wet dream fails to give relief, and even exacerbates the man’s problem, because now he has all those delightful tingles raging within him and he feels desperate to relive himself. If he’s not in a position to have sex, he must resort to masturbation. There is no other way.
So, when self-righteous Christians and feral wives condemn a man for masturbation, they (unwittingly) also accuse God of bad design. God designed and created humans to be sexual beings.
“You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. 14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well” (Ps 139:13-14 CEV).
So, people, hypocrites, a man should be allowed and encouraged to masturbate if he wants to. God is the architect who wisely, lovingly, and carefully designed a man to be often thinking of sex and to want to do it. He should not be ruled by an unhealthy or obsessive lust, of course, but a normal and healthy desire for sex is God’s doing. “This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Ps 118:23 NRSV).
Good sexual health
I watched a science show on Australian TV called “Catalyst” a few years ago; it was about sexual health but I can’t remember anything they said except that men need to have erections so that they can have erections. What the host meant by this was that erections keep the penis in good health. If there is too much time between a man’s erections, he is in danger of scar tissue forming in the tubes. This makes it more difficult to get an erection. So, get to it, and get erect!
I read online a while ago that a man needs to ejaculate about 21 times a month to reduce the possibility of prostate cancer. This is old science now and the number of ejaculations has been modified down to a smaller number – but apparently the principle remains. So again, get to it, men.
Good mental health
Masturbation is good for a man’s mental health because it is a great stress reliever, releases pent-up semen which is sometimes distressing, and gives a man “me time”. All of these are important for mental and physical health.
But one doesn’t have to give a reason to justify masturbating. I read an account of a married Christian woman who said she always masturbated after sex when her husband had dropped off to sleep; it wasn’t that her husband wasn’t satisfying her; she did it because she liked it.
Adultery in the heart
Jesus made a significant statement which has affected humanity ever since. H e said “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed with her in his heart” (Matt 5:27-28 NIV).
This passage has caused so much anguish and guilt for so many men for so many years, because they think it means that simply looking at a woman with any kind of appreciation or admiration i.e., he thinks she is beautiful or hot or sexy, and he likes what he sees, and sometimes feels physically aroused at the sight, that he’s committed adultery in his heart. But this attraction was built into him by God; it is part of his design. God intended that a man should be drawn to women on sight. And just about every movie and every novel is either structured around the attraction for the opposite sex or has a sex act in it somewhere.
So, what should a Christian man do when he gets aroused at the sight or smell or thought of a woman. If he’s watched a movie which has a sex scene, for example, and he gets turned on by it and wants to express that physically, he can have sex with his wife, or he can masturbate. Even if he’s married and, on this occasion, feels that masturbation would be preferable to him, he ought to do so; and there is no sin.
But Jesus isn’t talking about a man getting a stiffy because he’s seen a sexy or hot or beautiful woman. He’s referring to the man’s intention. Committing adultery in the heart is when a man intends to seduce a particular woman. Most modern bible versions are much clearer and more specific than the NIV and KJV on this verse. Compare the following readings:
But now I tell you: anyone who looks at a woman and wants to possess her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart (GNT).
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (ESV).
But 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 (AMPC).
but I say to you that everyone who [so much as] looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (AMP).
But I tell you if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts (CEV).
But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman (NCV).
This selection of readings shows that the sin which Jesus was condemning is not mere arousal itself, but what is happening in the mind of the man. Jesus clearly condemned the intent to seduce or have sex with her or even desire her sexually personally. The intent is what committing adultery in the heart means.