September 5th
“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. “Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”–but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” 1 Corinthians 6:11-13 NIV
We have a wonderful freedom that our faith in Jesus brings us. We are free from the rigid requirements of trying to keep the letter of the law for salvation. Jesus’ death paid our sin penalty and his blood cleanses our conscience from evil (Hebrews 10:22). Our freedom is to be used carefully, and not as a license to practice sin.
Certain activities, like eating and sex, are not sinful unless we abuse them by taking them beyond God’s design for them. When eating becomes gluttony or when sex becomes an addiction, we have allowed the activity to master us. The New Kings James translation of verse 12 is “I will not be brought under the power of any.” There is a certain type of power that things can gain over us. This power is evil, because it enslaves us to sin and damages our relationship with God. Since God bought us with Jesus’ blood, we are now his property. He owns our body and expects us to honor him with it.
I’m not sure if it’s by design or just coincidence that the word masturbation has “master” in it. Masturbation is an activity that easily becomes addictive. It is harmful to our relationship with God because it subjugates our spirit and soul to the desires of our body. God designed our soul and spirit to rule over our bodies, such that our bodies are used as instruments of righteousness and not sin (Romans 6:12-14). When we submit ourselves to the body’s lusts, we give the lusts power over us. If we continue to yield to lust, it will tighten its grip on us and our mindset will become increasingly carnal (i.e. looking for ways to satiate lust). The Bible says “to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6 NKJV). Life and peace descend when we make God our master and not masturbation.
If you are addicted to masturbation and want to get free, there are several things you can do to start walking to freedom:
- Reckon your body as God’s property: alive to God and dead to sin (Romans 6:11)
- Ask God for help in dying to your sin, crucifying your body’s sinful desires and putting on Jesus daily (Ephesians 4:22-24)
- Offer your body parts each day as instruments for doing God’s will only (Romans 6:13-14)
- Ask God to heal your sexuality, restoring it to proper balance in your life (Mark 10:46-52, Matthew 8:1-3)
For more detailed help, please visit our Freedom from Masturbation course.
Questions for further thought:
What does it mean to be sanctified?
Through Christ, our bodies are meant to be vessels for what? (2 Timothy 2:19-21)
Does masturbation sow to the flesh or to the Holy Spirit? (Galatians 5:16-25)
What is the net result of sowing to the flesh? (Romans 8:3-10)
Can anyone successfully serve two masters? (Matthew 6:24)
Prayer:
“Lord God, Thank you for freeing me from the law of sin and death and sending the Holy Spirit to guide me in truth. I confess any area that I’ve allowed other things/habits/desires to master me:_____________ (specify). Please forgive me for my sin. I reaffirm you as my Lord and Master today. I accept the challenge to live for you and I seek to do your will with the help of the Holy Spirit. Please help me break off every semblance of the “old self” which has been crucified with Christ. I am a new creature and I will now live as such for your glory. I praise you, Father and thank you! In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, Amen.”