What Does the Bible Say About Masturbation?

The Bible does not name masturbation directly. The Onan passage in Genesis 38 is sometimes cited but is about a specific refusal of levirate duty, not masturbation. What Scripture does address — repeatedly — is the related questions of lust, self-control, and the use of the body. Jesus was explicit in Matthew 5:28: lust that entertains imagined adultery is itself adultery in the heart. Paul calls Christians to "flee fornication" and teaches that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). He also speaks of the "fruit of the Spirit" including self-control (Galatians 5:23). Christian tradition has therefore addressed the question in terms of these broader principles rather than a single proof-text. Christian ethicists diverge on the act itself but agree on its coordinates: sexuality is a gift from God, designed for covenant within marriage; lust corrupts any expression of it; the Spirit produces self-control; grace reaches those who struggle. Below are the verses most often cited in the discussion.