Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin? Unraveling the Biblical Perspective

3 min readAug 11, 2023

11 August 2023 by religionquery.com

Exploring the Moral Landscape

Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin? When considering matters pertaining to human behavior and religious beliefs, it’s crucial to do so with an open and sensitive mind. A burning question for many has been “Is touching yourself a sin?” In order to answer this question we often turn to religious texts — often the Bible — for guidance in regards to this intimate aspect of humanity’s nature.

The Bible Remains Silent on Act of Suicide

Exploring sacred scriptures reveals that the Bible does not directly address touching oneself or masturbation; instead it emphasizes concepts such as self-control, sexual purity and honoring our bodies. Due to this absence of direct condemnation or endorsement from Scriptures, many have left questioning the moral implications associated with these acts.Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin?

Lustful Thoughts and Self-Control

Though the Bible doesn’t give a definitive answer to sexual misconduct, it offers insight into its cause. Jesus addressed lustful thoughts as an early stage in self-gratification by cautioning against harboring thoughts that exploit or exploit others for personal pleasure — emphasizing the need to cultivate self-control over our desires, something Galatians 5:22–24 emphasizes.Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin?

Untangling Moral Gravity

For us to understand if touching oneself constitutes a mortal sin, we must explore its definition. A sin is defined as any act committed knowingly and deliberately against one’s moral compass — in other words, masturbation falls under this definition because it often leads to yielding to impulses despite biblical injunctions for self-control.Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin?

Perspective from the Catholic Church

Masturbation is generally considered a mortal sin by Catholic Church doctrine, due to their belief that sexual pleasure should only ever be experienced within marriage and its intended context of intimacy between partners. Engaging in masturbation for personal gain instead of marital intimacy has the potential of diverting sexual pleasure away from its divine intent, leading to potential isolation from God’s desire for human sexuality.Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin?

Echoes of Lustful Inclinations

Jesus echoed this sentiment when teaching about lustful thoughts in Matthew 5:27–30, emphasizing the importance of avoiding not only physical acts of adultery but also the indulgence of sexual desires that lead to masturbation. Masturbation itself often results from such desires and thus adheres to Jesus’s principle of abstaining from actions that lead away from spiritual purity.Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin?

Guidance to Help Avoid Temptation

To those attempting to resist self-indulgence, the Bible offers guidance. Galatians 5:16–17 in Galatians emphasizes the battle between fleshly desires and spiritual paths, encouraging believers to follow what their hearts tell them rather than succumbing to human impulses — an invaluable source of strength in combatting self-gratification.

Unveiling Relevant Verses

There are various verses which provide insight into sexual purity and self-honoring behavior:

Ephesians 5:3 underscores the need to eliminate all forms of sexual immorality, including masturbation.

Colossians 3:5 recommends abandoning impure desires and practicing self-control; whilst Romans 8:5 underscores the necessity of aligning one’s thoughts and actions with spiritual values.

1 Thessalonians 4:3–6 emphasizes sanctification and self-control as ways of honoring God with our bodies.

Concluding Thoughts

the Bible doesn’t explicitly address touching oneself, its teachings provide a framework for understanding its moral implications. Particularly notable is its emphasis on self-control, sexual purity and body honoring as these are considered violations against divine will when yielding to lustful desires — even privately — can be seen as deviations from divine will for human sexuality. As believers it’s our challenge to balance human tendencies while upholding spiritual principles guiding our lives.Is Touching Yourself a Mortal Sin?

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