Is masturbation a sin?

It’s one of the most common—and most debated—questions Christians ask.

In this episode, I don’t simply give you my answer. I walk you through how I arrived at it.

After years of counseling men and women struggling with pornography, masturbation, and sexual addiction, my thinking has been sharpened by Scripture, pastoral conversations, and real-life counseling experience. In this episode, I share the strongest biblical argument against masturbation that I’ve personally encountered, where I still have questions, and where I currently land today.

Whether you ultimately agree with my conclusion or not, my hope is that this conversation helps you think carefully, pursue holiness, and honor Christ as you wrestle with one of Christianity’s most frequently asked questions.

In this episode:

Why faithful Christians disagree on this issue

The strongest theological argument against masturbation I’ve encountered

Where I still wrestle with the question

My current position—and why

Why this is only Part 1 of the conversation

In Part 2, I’ll explain why I still encourage Christians to avoid masturbation, even though I remain unconvinced that Scripture requires me to declare every conceivable instance sinful.

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Have you ever asked yourself,

“Why do I keep going back to porn?”

Most people answer that question by focusing on willpower, accountability, or trying harder.

But what if you’re asking the wrong question?

In this episode, I explain why pornography is often a symptom—not the root issue. I’ll show you what Jesus teaches about the heart, share part of my own recovery story, and give you a practical framework to begin understanding the deeper reasons behind your struggle.

When you stop seeing pornography as the problem and start seeing it as a clue, everything begins to change.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why behavior always flows from the heart

• Why pornography is often a symptom rather than the root problem

• How your life story shapes your sexual story

• The role shame, approval, rejection, and unmet longings can play in addiction

• Practical first steps to begin understanding your own story

If you’ve been asking, “Why can’t I stop?” this conversation may help you begin asking a much better question.

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If you’re serious about overcoming porn addiction, you cannot fight this battle alone.

In this episode, I share one of the most practical recovery tools I’ve ever recommended: 90 Check-Ins in 90 Days.

For years I’ve watched men try to white-knuckle recovery, only to find themselves stuck in the same cycle of isolation, shame, and relapse. But lasting freedom isn’t built in isolation—it grows through intentional, honest relationships.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why isolation fuels porn addiction

• Why daily accountability works differently than occasional confession

• How 90 Check-Ins in 90 Days can become one of the strongest habits in your recovery plan

• The FANOS conversation framework for meaningful daily check-ins

• Why consistency matters more than perfection

This isn’t about adding another religious obligation to your life.

It’s about building a recovery lifestyle that retrains your mind, rewires your habits, and helps you walk in the freedom Christ has already secured for you.

📘 Free Resource

Download my 4 Pillars of a Porn-Free Life guide and begin building a recovery plan that actually works.

👉 https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/freedom

🔥 Join the next Crush the Shame Challenge

Three live evenings designed to help you move from hiding to healing.

VIP Session: 5:00–6:00 PM ET

Main Session: 6:00–7:00 PM ET

👉 Register here: https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/crushtheshame

Your challenge:

Commit to 90 Check-Ins in 90 Days.

If you’re in, I’d love to hear from you.

Email me back and simply say: “I’m in for 90 in 90.”

I’d love to encourage you as you begin.

If this episode helped you, consider subscribing, leaving a review, and sharing it with someone who needs hope. Freedom is possible—and you don’t have to fight this battle alone.

Most people think pornography is the problem.But what if pornography is actually a learned solution?If you’ve ever found yourself asking, “How did I get here again?” after another relapse, this video is for you.In this episode, I explain how your brain learns patterns, builds pathways, and eventually begins operating on autopilot. Over time, pornography can become the default response to stress, loneliness, anxiety, shame, and insecurity—not because you’re crazy or hopeless, but because your brain learned a particular route.The good news?The same brain that learned addiction can learn freedom.We’ll discuss:• How pornography trains the brain• Why relapse can feel automatic• The “Owner, CEO, and Employees” framework• The Highway to Hell illustration• Why recovery feels harder than addiction at first• What Scripture means when it talks about renewing the mind• Practical steps to begin building a new pathway toward freedomFriend, your brain is not the enemy.Your brain is doing exactly what you’ve trained it to do.And through God’s grace, intentional recovery, and the renewing of your mind, change is possible.🔥 The next Crush the Shame Challenge begins soon.If you’re ready to stop hiding, understand what’s really driving your addiction, and begin building a practical pathway toward freedom, I’d love to have you join us.👉 Register here:Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGEhttps://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/crushtheshame📖 Download the Free 4 Pillars Guide:Get my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/freedom🎙 Subscribe for weekly content on pornography addiction, sexual addiction recovery, shame, identity, and biblical freedom.

Most men think they have a porn problem.And while pornography may be the behavior they’re struggling with, the deeper issue often lies underneath the addiction itself.In this week’s teaching, we explore three hidden drivers that frequently fuel pornography and sexual addiction:• The need for approval• The need for comfort and relief• The need for controlFor many men, pornography isn’t simply about sex. It’s an attempt to meet a deeper need, soothe a deeper pain, or solve a deeper problem.That’s why willpower alone often fails.If you only fight the behavior without understanding what’s driving the behavior, you’ll continue fighting the same battle over and over again.Real freedom begins when we stop asking:“How do I stop watching porn?”And start asking:“What is porn doing for me?”What need am I trying to meet?What pain am I trying to avoid?What am I really seeking?If you’re ready to move beyond behavior management and begin uncovering the deeper causes of your addiction, this teaching is for you.If this video encouraged you, consider subscribing, sharing it with a friend, and leaving a comment below. I’d love to hear which of these three hidden drivers resonates most with your story.Remember:You’re not just fighting pornography.You’re fighting for freedom.And freedom is possible.

Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGE

https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/...

Get my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/...

When most people think about addiction, they think about the behavior.The porn.The acting out.The relapse.But what if the greatest cost isn’t the behavior itself?What if the real cost is everything happening beneath the surface?In this week’s teaching, I ask a simple but sobering question:What is your addiction actually costing you?Not just financially.But in terms of:• Time• Mental and emotional energy• Productivity• Relationships• Purpose• Life-altering consequencesOne of the challenges with addiction is that it slowly normalizes things that should concern us. We stop noticing the hours being lost. We stop noticing the opportunities being missed. We stop noticing the distance growing in our relationships.It’s a little like living inside the matrix.When you’re in it, everything feels normal.Until one day you step back and honestly ask:What is this costing me?This isn’t a message about guilt.It’s not about shame.It’s about clarity.Because the greatest tragedy may not be what addiction has done to you.The greatest tragedy may be what addiction has kept you from becoming.

Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGEhttps://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/crushtheshameGet my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/freedom

Why do so many people hide their addiction?For most addicts, secrecy becomes a way of life.We hide from our spouses.We hide from our friends.We hide from our churches.Sometimes we even hide from ourselves.But hiding isn’t the problem.Hiding is the symptom.In this week’s teaching, I unpack three of the biggest reasons addicts stay trapped in secrecy:You don’t really want to change yetYou don’t believe you can changeYou’re afraid of what people will think if they know the truthWe also discuss three steps toward stepping out of hiding and into the light:Making a decision that you truly want freedomBelieving that God is able to change youAllowing the gospel to reshape your identity so you’re no longer controlled by the opinions of othersOne of the most powerful questions Jesus ever asked was directed toward a man who had been stuck for 38 years:“Do you want to get well?”That same question confronts every one of us.Because freedom begins the moment we stop hiding.

Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGEhttps://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/crushtheshame

Get my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/freedom

#PornAddiction #ChristianRecovery #NoFap #SexAddiction #PornRecovery #ChristianMen #MentalHealth #EmotionalHealing #FaithBasedRecovery #FreedomInChrist

Why does sobriety sometimes feel emotionally overwhelming?For many people struggling with porn addiction and sexual brokenness, pornography became more than lust — it became emotional escape, comfort, distraction, and numbness.So when recovery begins and the numbing starts to fade, emotions often come flooding back.In this video, we talk about:why porn addiction numbs emotionswhy sobriety can feel overwhelminghow addicts often lose emotional languagethe importance of community and connection in recoverythe FANOS daily check-in frameworkhow tools like the emotions wheel help us identify what we’re truly feelingand how all emotions ultimately lead us toward connection with GodFriend, emotions are not the enemy.They are invitations:toward honestytoward healingtoward connectionand ultimately toward ChristFreedom is not just about stopping porn.It’s about becoming fully alive in Jesus.

Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGEhttps://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/crushtheshameGet my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/freedom#PornAddiction #ChristianRecovery #NoFap #SexAddiction #PornRecovery #ChristianMen #MentalHealth #EmotionalHealing #FaithBasedRecovery #FreedomInChrist

Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGEhttps://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/...Get my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/...If you’ve tried to quit porn by focusing only on behavior modification… but you keep ending up back in the same cycle, this video is for you.In Matthew 12, Jesus gives a warning about “an empty house” — a life that has been cleaned up on the outside, but never truly filled with something greater.A lot of recovery focuses on:• blockers• accountability• discipline• trying harderBut freedom is about more than removing darkness.You were not created merely to stop sinning.You were created to become someone new in Christ.In this video, I walk through:👉 why quitting porn isn’t enough👉 how shame and isolation keep men stuck👉 and 3 practical ways to start “furnishing the house” with truth, community, and purpose.Freedom isn’t just about what you remove from your life.It’s about what you fill it with.If you’re ready to stop hiding and take your first real step toward freedom, join me in the Crush the Shame Challenge — a live 3-day experience designed to help you break shame and start walking in freedom.#pornaddiction #christianmen #freedomfromporn #faithandfreedom #mentalhealth #recovery

Join the CRUSH THE SHAME CHALLENGEhttps://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/...Get my FREE Guide: 4 Pillars of a Porn Free Life ≥≥ https://www.sexaddictedchristian.com/...What should you do when temptation hits?Most people either panic… or negotiate.But if you want freedom from porn and sexual addiction, you need a plan BEFORE temptation comes.In this video, I walk through a practical framework called BRACE that can help you interrupt the cycle of temptation and begin responding differently in those critical moments.We discuss:

• Why temptation is NOT the same thing as failure
• Fight or flight mode and the nervous system
• Emotional triggers and deeper root causes
• Shame, identity, and gospel truth
• Confession, honesty, and bringing things into the light
• Practical steps to escape temptation before relapse

Friend, freedom is possible.#pornaddiction #christianmen #freedomfromporn #sexaddiction #faith #recovery