When just a young man with sons who were in puberty my wife Ellen and I were attending Red Lion E Free church in Bear Delaware. This church was one of the most impactful churches spiritually speaking in the life of our family. But one Sunday evening the service was devoted to a James Dobson film. Unfortunately I do not remember the name of the film, but it was devoted to the subject God’s way of escape from sin.

In the film Dr Dobson brought up the taboo subject in Christian circles “masturbation”. In fact so taboo that I hesitated to write this article, even approaching the subject could make one suspect, but then again I was prompted to understand that God had in a way answered my question on this subject from scripture. A question that had frankly plagued me and over which I had prayed for years after seeing Dr Dobson’s film, and why would I not share this answer from God. The sin of lust is one that every young man and I suppose young woman  as well struggle with. This I assumed was Dr Dobson’s reason for producing this film. The sex drive can definitely be the imputes for sin, and self control in order to be self control definitely needs an escape route.

In the film although Dr Dobson told us that he believed masturbation to be an escape route from sexual lust; then he also stated that Scripture teaches — for every temptation God has provided a way of escape — still in my mind he had not proven that masturbation Itself was not another sin to escape.

Dr Dobson explained that the sex drive is a natural human drive created by God, and it is possibly at its strongest in teenagers. He then made his case for Masturbation as the way of escape. We, or most all men remember the occurrence called the wet dream. This phenomenon occurs with no warning. Self control is out of the question.

My concern was that I could find nothing in scripture that would remove this act when control was in question, from the category of sexual sin. And let me be frank at this point anything that God has created can be misused and thus become a sin. I speak more about this later in the article, but first I must show you what God, I believe has shown me from scripture in order to clear my understanding on this act of escape from in some extreme cases a burning desire and lust which is definitely a sin if not controlled. The question is how is it controlled?

As you know I have written books on Bible Prophecy. I study doctrine surrounding prophecy as much as I study anything else scripturally, one day as I was studying the chuppah (there is an article on this subject on my web site) God revealed to me out of the blue possibly my answer to the masturbation question.

So now to the scripture. Get your Bible and turn to Deuteronomy 22:13-21. And read it carefully, then return here to go on. Here is what I suddenly saw from this passage — first, there is clear evidence of virginity in the young woman, that evidence is contained inside her. It was something that was until broken, retained throughout her youth, and this even were she to masturbate. And consider: without this proof of virginity from the broken Hyman, under God’s Law a young woman at any time after her marriage could be falsely accused by her husband and put to death. So retaining that evidence was in ancient times done with the special covering (The chuppah) retaining the bleeding of the Virgin. It was on the bed in the brides chamber where the marriage was consummated. It was retained as evidence.

So back to our subject. Masturbation is not here implicated nor mentioned as an act that would disqualify a young woman from being a virgin, and masturbation for a virgin female would not break the hyman, which when broken through intercourse would provide this evidence as stated in scripture of her virginity on the virginity cloth. If masturbation were forbidden in woman by God in His creation of woman would He not have created her so that any activity involving sex might also break the membrane which is providing her the proof of virginity? Under that scenario masturbation without being specifically stated as sin would still fall into the sin category. But that is not the case. This I believe can help us conclude that if masturbation does not eliminate virginity in the female and is not specifically listed by scripture as a sin, as is lying with another woman listed as sin; true it would not break the Hyman, but it is listed as sin. So, then if used somehow properly, then would it be a way of escape?

Would it then apply equally to the male, and be as Dr Dobson said it to be: the way to escape lust and burning desire which is definitely sin and leads one into more sin’s as listed within Scripture?

if one agrees with Dr Dobson; then as promised we must take a look at when masturbation might be itself a sin. Jesus tells us that if a man looks on a woman with lust in his heart it is as though he has already committed adultery with her. This Lust is the temptation that one is trying to flee. The way of escape is maybe provided by God, but it would be sinful if it is abused, or stated another way used to fantasize, or if the act itself is allowed to become a form of idol in ones life. Otherwise it may just be the way of escape. But anything that controls us rather than our being under God’s control will equal sin. We are to offer our body a living sacrifice unto God.

From a purely physical anatomical perspective. The sex drive shows up in a male when sperm is produced and needs to be released. Sometimes this happens during the night in what is referred to as a wet dream. If this physical condition begins to occur during the day the factors that cause the dream at night will cause the same buildup and thus fantasies and desires can be introduced during the day leading up to the release. This physical condition if not somehow avoided leads to temptation in the male. The female sexual pressures are much different but can have similar result. If we were told that it is a sin to urinate, without having our spouse by our side, then bladder pressure would occur and we would eventually wet our pants. This might help one understand the physical similarities. So the question is can masturbation interrupt the process and prevent lust which is sin, or is it sin? If it is sin then what is the way that God provides as the escape?

So, is this the proof that masturbation is a type of escape from temptation? In my mind yes, but as always you must be the judge. Because if we think a thing to be sin it is sin to us. Romans 14:22-23 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

In other words if you study this subject out and determine from scripture that this is not a sin, then you walk in that conviction in faith not doubting, which is an interesting concept in and of itself.

If one who is married works out of town, this article can be the catalyst for discussion with ones spouse or one’s pastor.

This scriptural concept actually applies to everything we do that God has not already clearly condemned on the pages of scripture. Especially if one has a sexual or other weakness, this one should be looking for “the way” of escape.

You can’t just say don’t you urinate while you’re away, can you? Neither, can you say you can’t produce sperm while you’re away.

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