Masturbation—is it a sin according to the Bible?

The Bible does not mention masturbation, self-gratification, or “solo sex,” as it’s sometimes called. In its silence on the subject, the Bible does not say that masturbation is (or is not) a sin. Some people take the view that masturbation is a lustful act and is always wrong; others believe it involves a normal bodily function and has nothing to do with sin.


A passage frequently associated with masturbation is the story of Judah’s son Onan in Genesis 38. In fact, another word for masturbation is onanism, coined from the Genesis passage. Some interpret Genesis 38:9–10 to say that “spilling seed”—the squandering of semen—is a sin. However, God condemned Onan not for “spilling his seed” but for his rebellion. Onan refused to fulfill his duty to provide an heir for his deceased brother. Masturbation does not figure into the story at all; Onan’s punishment was the result of his failing to fulfill a family obligation.

A second proof text sometimes used to argue that masturbation is a sin is Matthew 5:27–30. Jesus speaks against having lustful thoughts and then says, “If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away” (verse 30). While there is often a connection between lustful thoughts and masturbation, it is unlikely that Jesus was alluding to masturbation in this passage.

Though the Bible nowhere explicitly addresses masturbation, it does outline the purpose of sex. According to 1 Corinthians 7:2–5, “Each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” Implicit in this passage are these truths:

Paul taught that it was good to “stay unmarried” (1 Corinthians 7:8) due to the “crisis” facing the Corinthians (verse 26). At the same time, the apostle is careful to say that marriage is preferrable to struggling against constant sexual temptation: “If [the unmarried] cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion” (1 Corinthians 7:9). Marriage is not sinful (verse 28), but allowing passion to burn out of control will lead to sin. All believers have the responsibility to resist sexual immorality. For those not gifted with singleness, marital intimacy—not masturbation—is a good and proper deterrent to sexual sin (see 1 Corinthians 7:2).

Some see sexual fulfillment as a need akin to the need to eat or the need to scratch an itch. They point to nocturnal emissions as evidence that the body requires sexual release. Some go further and say this makes masturbation morally and ethically neutral—it is simply something the body needs and is no more sinful than urinating. However, the Bible never presents sexual fulfillment as a need, especially when the fulfillment relies on self-stimulation.

Regardless of the morality of the act of masturbation itself, certain actions often associated with masturbation are decidedly sinful: entertaining lustful thoughts, seeking inappropriate means of sexual arousal, and viewing pornography, for example. If these sins are curtailed, masturbation becomes less of a temptation. Many people struggle with guilt concerning masturbation when they would be better off repenting of the sins that lead them to masturbate.

So, is masturbation a sin? The Bible does not directly answer this question, but there are biblical principles that apply to what we do with our bodies:

(1) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If we cannot give God glory for something, we should not do it.

(2) “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). If we are not fully convinced that an activity is honoring to God, it is a sin for us.

(3) “I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12). Christians should avoid anything that might enslave them.

(4) “I discipline my body and keep it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:27, ESV). Self-discipline is difficult but necessary to “receive the prize” in the spiritual race we run (1 Corinthians 9:24).

(5) “The fruit of the Spirit is . . . self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). Masturbation is almost always a sign of a lack of self-control.

(6) Do “not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want” (Galatians 5:16–17). We are called to self-denial, not self-gratification.

In light of these principles, it is doubtful that masturbation can be a God-honoring activity. If masturbation could be done with
then perhaps it would be allowable. But those qualifiers seem to negate the most common reasons people masturbate.

In the beginning, God intended a husband and wife to be “united” to each other, becoming “one flesh” and being unashamed in their nakedness with each other (Genesis 2:24–25). The very least we can say about masturbation is that it departs from God’s design for sexual expression and is thus not His best for us.