Hello men, and welcome back to the podcast! Today, we'll be continuing our Stormproof series, reading through the book of the same title by Roger Fankhauser. Listen now to dive into some practical application with us!

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We’re jumping back into our Stormproof series after taking a quick one week break for the election podcast that we aired on the last episode.  I hope you’ve been praying for our newly elected leaders, regardless of how you voted. 

The M Word 

While there are no passages of scripture that explicitly condemn or condone masturbation, there are several Biblical principles that we can apply. These principals would cause us to view masturbation as almost always, if not always, sinful. 

1 Corinthians 7:3-4 The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4 The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife. 

Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

• There are four perspectives about masturbation you might hear in Christian circles
• It is a gift from God. 
• It’s probably alright if I can do it without lustful fantasies or as long as it isn’t compulsive, done in groups, or produces guilt
• It is usually wrong because it goes against nature and violates purity.
• It is always wrong
• I land somewhere between 3 and 4. I think theoretically there may be a time and place where it isn’t sinful, but practically I think it pretty much always is.                
• Biblical principles that speak against it
• Lust vs. a pure thought life
• Intimacy vs. sexual release
• Satisfying a habit vs. self control
• Selfish vs. selfless sex 
• Creating problems for physical intimacy in marriage 

Building our Foundation on the Rock 

Theology matters.  An accurate view of God leads to sound thinking and practices. An inaccurate view of God leads to faulty thinking and dangerous practices. Do you spend time getting to know God? 

Psalm 42:1-1 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.  2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?

• God is good.
• God is holy. 
• God is love.
• God is forgiving.
• God is faithful.   

Guilt vs. Shame 

Guilt and conviction are good and can be used to bring us in line with God’s boundaries. Shame is not from God for those that are in Christ Jesus and tends to diminish our relationship with him. Romans 8:1 

Romans 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 

• Guilt - I did something wrong
• Condemnation - There is something wrong with me
• Conviction  typically has an action step.  We’re confronted with something we’ve done wrong and the Spirit shows us how to respond. Condemnation typically has no action step.  It’s just an accusation against us that we can’t address. 
• Condemnation diminishes our relationship with God. When our relationship diminishes, we begin to forget who he really is and the attributes we looked at earlier.