By Dianna
Will God still forgive you if you commit the same sin over and over again?
From a young age, I don't really know why, but I've kept getting interested in watching kissing scenes and stuff. I have this weird feeling -- pleasurable, I guess? -- and I started masturbating without even knowing I was doing it until years and years later. I don't even know where I got it from!
And I keep feeling really guilty and remorseful every time I masturbate or watch some kissing scene. But everytime I do that, I know that it is a sin, but I keep having this urge to watch it and stuff. But after I do it, I suddenly "come back to my senses" and I feel really stupid for doing it.
I feel like I'm not trying hard enough, and I just keep hoping God will forgive me. But I don't think so cause I keep repeating my mistake even though I am aware of it?
Does God forgive repeat offenders? What are some steps we can take when facing habitual sin to break the cycle?
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Comments (75)
@Captric@xanga - People discuss ethics and morality as they pertain to sex quite frequently. The fact that folks use their metaphysical and philosophical commitments to do so is pretty common as well and is hardly surprising or interesting.
@Chibi_Son_Gokou@xanga - As @jessispeaks said, true Christians do judge those who claim to be Christians. It is that we don't judge non believers, but instead tell them to repent of sin and trust in Christ. The verse you are trying to allude to does not mean what you think it does if taken in context.
@Soul_Pizza@xanga - Paul addresses the sentiments in your last paragraph through 1 Corinthians 6:12-13. I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.
“I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
13You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.”
The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.Your sentiments are very common, just not biblically based on truth. The last statement of that verse is something critical to meditate on. God KNOWS we are humans and that is why He calls us to rely on His strength and not our own to fight our flesh. All in all He does expect us to make serious efforts to obey Him. We are called to sacrifice doing any and everything we want, for the sake of "living our lives", when we profess our faith in Jesus Christ. You can not begin to have a real relationship with Him without being transformed from the inside out! He is so awesome to deliver us from the bondage of sin, for this very reason He died!
I'll leave you with this truth of the Christian experience. We are living to know God, but dying to make Him known = Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Masturbation is the natural way to deal with the frustration of a unfulfilled sexual urge. It is as natural as eating to deal with hunger. Do what you have to do to end the urge temporarily and get on with your life.
I suspect Jesus is your biggest fan...and hopes for you to have an amazing life joy-filled life. My experience of masturbation is that it does not bring me abundant life...it offers me comfort in the moment.
Focusing on the 'less than' thing doesn't inspire me to purse those amazing possibilities, ie discipline to not masturbate, may be helpful for a while, but I've found it doesn't offer enough motivation in the long run. I encourage you to first seek what are the desires of your heart...without judgement...and even better do that in relationship with a community that offers space for the 'shy soul to feel free to come out to explore' (as Parker Palmer says). Then pursue those desires whole heartedly...living a risk-filled adventure. And living risk-filled adventure is best lived with friends and lovers.
God bless you on the journey...the ache you feel (and are tempted to satisfy with masturbation) is merely part of the call for you to discover the life that is awaiting you...the one you've only dreamed so far!
The only reason you feel guilt is from other people telling you to feel guilt
God forgives us, no matter how often we commit the sin, as long as we truly are sorry for whatever we have done. You don't have to be perfect - no human is. If you need help with ceasing the urge, I suggest physically getting up and drinking a tall glass of cold water. The temperature change will course through your body, and help change the sensation that your brain is focused on. If you have the time, get up and take a walk outside and count all of your blessings. This is a very tough thing to keep from doing, and I support you through your quest to happiness :)
Don't let anyone, either on this site or in real life, make you feel badly for having these urges. We are all human, and we all have these urges. No one is holier than thou, don't allow anyone to convince you otherwise! You are a child of God, therefore you are perfect in His eyes.
Your hand will never betray you.
I don't think doing something that is not harmful to yourself is of any real concern to God. If you have an itch, you scratch it, don't you? Same thing here. Better to do it yourself then seek others to do it for you at your age, cuz I'm guessing you're still in high school. Good luck!
I really think God has better things to worry about than whether you have your hand down your pants or not.
no. and you will go blind now.
First things first, yes, yes He forgives repeate offenders. You keep striving to run into His arms and He'll keep them open for you.
Second, where have you come by the idea that masterbation is a sin? If you came by this through your own reading and communion with God, then may He help you in your restraint. But if you just took this idea from someone else, I would advice you to look into this yourself. Study His word and the culture of the people He was talking to at that time.
Perhaps you are struggling needlessly, perhaps not. I do not know what His plans for you are, so I won't say that you should hold one idea over another. As long as you think for yourself and do not reject wise counsle I believe you will do well.
No, God won't forgive you for masturbating.
You can't be "forgiven" for doing something that isn't wrong to begin with.
Just about everyone masturbates, except maybe people who are asexual. There's nothing wrong with it, you're not hurting anyone. I really don't know where people get the idea that it's wrong. People (well, most people) are sexual beings. The desire for sexual release is part of how we're wired. Maybe it would be better to stop thinking it's wrong than to try to stop doing it. It always makes me sad to see people so torn up with guilt over something that isn't even wrong and that isn't hurting anyone.
So many people have said that something (in this case, masturbation) isn't wrong because it doesn't hurt anyone. First of all, I'd argue that there are a number of things that are morally wrong that do not hurt anyone. Things such as gluttony, laziness, certain addictions, fantasies of violence, and pride, to begin with.
More importantly, God never sets "hurting anyone" as the standard for whether something is wrong. Things are morally wrong because they offend a Holy God.
Finally, the bible doesn't address masturbation, but it does address lust. Jesus said that anyone who looks lustfully at someone commits adultery with them in their heart. Some have argued that masturbation can occur without lust, but I'm guessing that it's pretty rare. The problem isn't a physical release, it's lust. God has given us desires, and he's also given us good ways to fulfill those desires. Lusting after someone who isn't your spouse is not one of those ways.
God is gracious. He knows we struggle. Even the best of us is more entangled in sin than we'll ever know. It affects everything we do, our worldview, our motives, even the good things we attempt. God's grace is deeper than our ability to sin.
@ColdSkivvies@xanga - That doesn't mean it's not a sin. Everyone lies and that's a sin. That also doesn't mean we should continue to do it.
To the OP: I know how you feel regarding the whole habitual sin thing. I know everyone has their own sins that they struggle with getting rid of and even though it's tough we do need to pray, repent, and ask God to forgive us and give us the strength to overcome. Change isn't an overnight thing though. We need to remember that. I wish it was. Life would be so much easier. :)
@EccentricSiren@xanga - Just because everyone does something doesn't mean it's not a sin. Lying is a sin and yet everyone does that. Lusting for someone or something is a sin and everyone does that.
@Theophilus166@xanga - I really couldn't have said this better myself. Thank you!
Didn't you know, every time you rub one out God kills a kitten.
stop sinning against yourself and start sinning against other people like everyone else.
when that fails, start sinning against the world, because the world is like...sinproof. you can curse the earth all you want. it's already so defiled and rotten that even God doesn't want it to be holy anymore.sin against your own body all day long, God doesn't care. People might tell you to stay in church and never talk to anyone, because most people don't really see the need. It's not forbidden to non-christians, so they don't care about it.
LOL never mind. when you masturbate be sure to wear a condom so it feels more like regular sex. one day i hope you join all your kids in the landfill
@xhalesx - I see your point but I don't think your analogy is accurate. Instead of "everybody lies," masturbation would be more akin to "everybody goes to the bathroom." You can try and stop but you're not likely to be successful for long. And just because it's sexual doesn't make it a sin.
When we ask for forgiveness, it is said that "God remembers our sins no more". If we habitually sin, and keep asking God to forgive... yes, God will always forgive us. But aren't we being selfish ? We aren't truly repenting and the sin we commit can't be seen as a mistake.
If you feel guilty, there's a reason for it. Everyone who is saying masturbation is okay should consider what it means to be a stumbling block. I'm not saying you are wrong, either, but just putting that out there.
Our hands should be used to praise God and bring glory.
@ColdSkivvies@xanga - Lust is a sin. When you are masturbating you are lusting for someone or for sex in general (that's usually how being turned on works).
And how is going to the bathroom the same as masturbation? You NEED to go to the bathroom. You do not need to masturbate. You aren't going to die if you don't masturbate. If you don't go to the bathroom your insides will eventually explode. If you don't masturbate, you simply don't masturbate. You aren't going to die or explode. And THAT is where YOUR logic fails.
I'm so glad I'm not you. Frustrated much?
Deal with it as a compulsion if that will help, or go out and meet people, are you isolated?
peace
mark
Relax. God loves you.
I have never read anything in the Bible which led me to believe that masturbation was a sin. I suspect that you feel guilty about it because Christian culture recognizes inappropriate sexual urges as one of our biggest challenges to pursuing righteousness and therefore tries to completely deny our desire for it.
However, our sexual nature is simply a part of us as humans and needs to be directed, not denied. True sex is intended to be exclusively within a committed relationship, but we don't get to just wait until our wedding day to turn on our desire. Masturbation is a normal, healthy way of dealing with urges it would be inappropriate to meet. Dwelling on a lust for someone to whom we are not committed is indeed against the rules, but it is not necessary to do that in order to masturbate. You can focus only on the sensation or you can focus on an entirely fictional lover. Just don't expect your future husband to live up to him!
Pleasuring oneself sexually is just like taking bubble baths. It is only wrong if it takes time away from God or from other things we need to be doing.
It's ok. Don't let the guilt push you away from God. Accept your humanity, accept that these urges come, accept that, while Christ and our fellow human beings need to come first, we do deserve to spend some time on ourselves as well. Bless you, dear.