Masturbation: a Christian Woman's Perspective

Recently I attended a couple's Christian Retreat. Although it was only for one night, many questions with reference to sex were answered. One of the questions I asked was "Is masturbation a sin, even if the thoughts are of your spouse?"

For a long time in my life, I would repent after masturbation because I thought it was a sin. After reading the Bible, I've come to find there is nothing specific that relates to self gratification. What I did find was in Job 31:11 "For lust is a shameful sin." and Mathew 5:28 "But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman/man with lust in his/her eye has already committed adultery with her/him in their heart". After reading these scriptures, I must be hones, I knew I had committed adultery and needed to repent. Okay I wasn't physically committing the act, but by these scriptures even having lustful thoughts about a person other than your spouse is an act of adultery.

So I had asked the question at the retreat just to make sure that my assumptions about these scriptures were correct. The pastor confirmed my findings. As long as the self gratification act is done with your partner or about your partner, it is not considered a sin. The downside to this, is that we are human, an act like this can make our minds wonder in the heat of the moment and the person is taking a risk of committing a sin. So even though I was relieved to hear that I didn't have to repent, I knew that I was putting my spiritual self at a risk.