The carnal man is one who by definition lives by the flesh and not by the Spirit. He is one who sees life with a darkened understanding. And he fulfills the desires of the flesh—that is to say he sins. There are some who do so flagrantly without the least vestiges of shame. Then there are those who wish to appear moral by a Christian standard, but have a secret love affair with their carnal desires. 

Those who fit in this category tend to have secret sins in their lives, that are deeply hidden, while promoting whatever virtue they have in their lives to the public. This comes as naturally to some as breathing. Even those who sin flagrantly tend to have hidden things in their lives that never see the light of day. 

This obviously creates a culture of darkness, defeat and shame. So, what is the antidote? 

The Launching Pad

Scripture says that if you walk by the Spirit you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. A simple remedy, but how does it play out practically? Most people know the first steps if they have been around the church for any amount of time. Believe repent and confess. But, these are only a launching pad. How do we walk with endurance and patience when the first rush of spiritual energy fades? 

You see, there are many who have been through the basics as outlined above and after that first rush is past, they return to carnal ways and become carnal Christians instead of carnal heathens. How do we come to a place where the things we do in secret are some of our holiest moments instead of our darkest? To me, that seems to be a mark of a mature believer. One who needs no recognition for the good he does in life and can face the shame for what he’s done wrong, cheerfully. How do we get there? 

The Secret Place

John Bunyan once said that “prayer will make a man to cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.” I think there is a lot of truth to this statement. But I also believe it goes a little deeper than that. Prayer is a time when we close out the world around us and commune with the Father. We recharge our spiritual batteries that get drained by the world around us. Prayer is part of something bigger that I would call dwelling in God’s secret place.

There are many benefits to dwelling in God’s secret place. And it involves a lot more than only prayer. Every spiritual thought we have, every reflection of the goodness of God, every meditation of our heart on His Word, will and ways can bring us into that secret place. Thinking of true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy things takes us there. Reflecting on heaven and the new earth can take us there. Every private exchange between you and the Lord is a secret place between the two of you. And it creates a bond of unity between you and the Lord that you become loath to break. 

But even more important, it creates a bond that the Lord honors. Psalm 91 lists a lot of the ways God honors those who dwell in his secret place. Here are a few of them: Psalm 91:1-6 

The Promises

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. – NKJV  

These are only a few of the promises. You can read the chapter in its entirety for a fuller picture, but this makes my point. God will go to great lengths to protect those who dwell in His secret place. That includes protecting us from sin, if we have a desire to escape it’s snare (see verse 3). And it offers protection from all manner of evil that the enemy would inflict upon us. 

Even Jesus Did It

After reading Psalm 91, we get a picture of how safe we are in God’s secret place and we can get a contrasting view of how vulnerable we are outside of it. Perhaps that is why Jesus spent prolonged periods of time alone with the Father. 

Yes, we need time with other believers as part of our spiritual regimen. That also provides a way of escape from sin, through accountability and simply from the release and healing we get from sharing our faults with one another as promised in Scripture. 

Returning To The Foundation

But it all comes from the foundation we build first with the Lord in His secret place. If we have that, we can always return to Him because we know He won’t let us down. Our fear of sharing with others and being accountable to others loses its strength if we have this to fall back on. 

So find your secret place and return to it again and again—day by day. Make it your dwelling place and you will be safe.