Ps 51 · 1 Cor 7

Devotion 1 of 2: Ps 51

David wrote this psalm after Nathan exposed his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Uriah (2 Sam 11-12).
David was the greatest king of Israel and his tabernacle, the Tabernacle of David, was a model of the LDC. Yet, he committed 2 terrible sins that normally would have destroyed anyone’s reputation and legacy! However, the Lord forgave him and continued to protect his kingdom (legacy) because David genuinely repented of his terrible actions (v.3-5, 14, 17).
However, this didn’t mean that David didn’t suffer the consequences of his sins because he did. The son that Bathsheba birthed through David died (2 Sam 12:15-23). And from that point, David’s house was filled with curses, such as: Rape, murder, and insurrection against David’s rule.
We are called to be the Tabernacle of David Church of the LD, so let’s genuinely repent of our sins as David did, but let’s also remember that we will likely reap the consequences of some of our worst sins, so we should avoid sinning AMAP (As Much As Possible)!

Devotion 2 of 2: 1 Cor 7

Paul deals with some hard-to-discuss topics about marriage and sex in this chapter. Other Scriptures speak of the beauty and blessings of marriage, but the emphasis of this chapter is the single lifestyle.
Paul encouraged the Corinthians to live single because the 1st century had much distress and persecutions (v.26-27), resulting in husbands being killed, leaving the wives and children abandoned, and also because single people were not hindered as much as married people to serve the Lord (v.32-33).
But Paul also recognized that there is a strong sexual urge in humans that marriage can best fulfill. So he recommended those who could not exercise self-control to marry because it was better to marry than to burn with passion (v.9).
We should touch on the sensitive issue of masturbation here. It is another way, besides marriage, of fulfilling the sexual urge, and one other way is through “wet dreams.” These topics are hard to talk about because they’re so personal. But I believe God created mankind and put a strong sexual urge in humans to make us want to marry. So having a strong sexual desire is God’s plan for mankind, and if we cannot keep it subdued (if we burn with passion, meaning if we masturbate), we should marry!

(3/3)
So in one sense, masturbation is not wrong because God gave us that strong sexual urge. But Jesus also said if we look at the opposite sex with lust we have committed adultery in our hearts. So from that perspective, we are sinning. My recommendation is if a person burns with passion, it’s okay to relieve himself through masturbation, but as Christians, we should also remember Jesus’ words and ask God to forgive us for giving in to lust.
But let’s realize that God understands our situation because he created us this way, so he knows the sexual urge is stronger than our will to suppress it! So let’s not feel condemned for the sexual urge within us. However, we should never fulfill it through immoral acts. That would be a grave and dangerous sin that could damage the rest of our life.