Where in the Bible, specifically, does it say the act of "masturbation" is a sin?

In Genesis 4:38 it says that God struck down Onan for "spilling his seed upon the ground."

But this wasn't really masturbation. It was coitus interruptus; Onan pulled out before he shot because he didn't want to have his sister in law to have his kids. (Which was commanded by God.)

So there is no actual injunction against masturbation in the Bible.

Well, this can be a tricky question to answer because it depends on what faith you are or what part of the Bible you last left off at.

However, considering you stated that you are a Christian, here is what I can answer for you:

The old testament does have some references to particular person sinning by wasting their "seed" on the ground because God wanted him to impregnate someone. Yet, it was not specifically stated that masturbation was a sin. But, if you were the man God wanted to not waste his sperm, then you were committing a sin.

God gave the Hebrews certain guidelines and then later laws that should be conducted. Some violations made you unclean for a certain amount of days and others were fatal. But, these were meant for the Hebrews, not Christians. Especially, if it is found in the old Testament and was later revised by Jesus.

The main personal issue addressed in the times of Jesus is probably in reference to adultery. If you masturbate thinking of someone other than your spouse, then you have committed adultery in your heart first and the act was of you masturbating is a type of adultery. Jesus expanded adultery to included emotions toward someone besides the act itself.

In short, if you are not married to anyone, then masturbation is not technically a sin because you are not committing adultery. However, you can still masturbate while thinking of your married partner and that be ok.

romans chapter 2 verses 21-24 well then, if you teach others, why don't you teach yourself? you tell others not to steal, but do you steal? you say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? you condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? you are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor god by breaking it. no wonder the scriptures say, "the gentiles blaspheme the name of GOD because of you." basicly by doing that and this is from experiance with the same problem i had it about 5 years ago man no matter how hard u try to say that ur not having bad thought the mere feeling of pleasure is lust because ur lusting and desiring to please urself in a way that is idolatry the actual act is an idol to u and as a verse in corinthians i beleive says tear down ur idles cast them to the ground and stomp them out before they trample upon u

i struggled with this from teh age of 13 to about 15 and am now 17 this verse and the last that i mentioned helped me and one last thing get a jesus christ is king band and put it on the hand u would think about commiting the act with when u see that it will serve as a reminder to stop and always remeber this there is no temptation that god lets pass that he does not first assure u a way out of

well, the verse you mention is one reason. But Jesus tells us that to lust at a women or to think about her lustfully is committing adultery. For those who say that masturbating isn't the same as spilling your seed, then what happens when you orgasm? Just because it may go into a tissue or whatever, it is the point of wasting your seed for any other purpose than to propagate. For the comments about it not being a sin if you aren't married, then it is still a sin because it is coveting something that is not yours, and most of the women or men in the movies or magazines are married, so even if you aren't married, the one your thinking about is.

I agree with most of your respondents. There is no exact wording like what you are seeking. The thing about it is that you are indulging your own carnal pleasures instead of focusing on the procreation powers between man and wife that God gave us to use for His purposes. Masturbation leads to other sexual indulgences that are specifically forbidden. Therefore, it behooves us to keep our thoughts and our actions clean. When it comes to sexual practices, we are expected to control them and keep them within the Lord's boundaries. The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth is still in existence. Therefore, we should use our seed, both sperm and egg, for that purpose, not for unilateral gratification.

Masturbation is never even mentioned once in the Bible. Lust is, but that's not the same thing.

But without Gen 38:9, their whole argument falls apart! That's hardly a fair tactic.

People get that from Genesis 38 7-10

Sin for man to drop your seed on the ground

Hey, not saying I'm against it as if I were to drop seeds there would be a forest.

It is implied when Jesus said "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Matt 5:28. If looking at a woman lustfully is bad because committing adultery in your heart is bad, than one can think that thinking about a woman while masturbating is also bad.

From a biological standpoint, we are hard-wired to masturbate. 99.9% of the population does it. It doesn't hurt anyone as long as it doesn't interfere with other relationships.

It doesn't. Masturbation is not fornication.

You are correct about the story of Onan. That is not about masturbation or spilling of seed on the ground (instead of in his dead brother's widow). That is about disobedience.