We have listed some of the sins that come into the life as a result of self. There are many more, but these may do for now. The Bible talks about the deceitfulness of sin. This means that we can sin, which is bad, but worse yet is after we have sinned, being blinded or deceived into thinking or saying it isn't sin.

What is worse than sinning? It is covering up sin. For example, the bank robber, because of his wanting money for himself (self-will), steals or robs the bank. The next thing he does is seek to cover his sin—change his name, cars, clothes, etc. This, however, only leads to bondage because he is never sure if he might be recognized. Whether he is caught or not, he is in bondage to his thoughts or to the prison.

We have traced the path of a little child lying on the floor kicking, all the way to a man in prison. This is the fruit of self-will. The Bible says,

"The way of transgressors is hard." (Proverbs 13:15)

"He who covers his sins shall not prosper." (Proverbs 28:13)

We must all choose the way we will go: the broad way on which so many are travelling which leads to destruction, or the narrow way which leads to life everlasting.

Remember, we all have the problem of sin and Self, it is just a matter of admitting it and dealing with it.

Part 2 of the following chart gives us the answer to the self-life.

(a) Agree with God. Will we admit we have a problem with sin and self-will? God can begin to set us free if we will just take this first step. The opposite of all we have talked about is "Expecting God's Blessing".

What a wonderful thing if God would bless us like He did Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, like He blessed Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, and Daniel. He wants to, but we must come into the right relationship with Him so that He can.

(b) Take it to Calvary. The proof of God's love is Calvary, where His Son has paid for our sin. When God speaks to us of sin and self-will and we agree with Him and come in repentance to Calvary, He forgives us these sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 affirms:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

(c) If we have wronged others by unkind attitudes, actions, etc. we need to make things right with those we have wronged. Our confessions and restitution need to be as wide as the offence or wrong done. If we are truly sorry for our sins, this will not be too difficult.

(d) Step Four is to walk listening to the Holy Spirit. He would like us to deal with our motives and attitudes before they cause us to behave wrongly. This life will be difficult at first because it will mean we will be listening to God's Spirit rather than just doing what we feel like. If we have lived many years walking in the Flesh, it will be a learning experience to walk in the Spirit. If we fail we need to go back to 2(a) on this Chart and follow the steps to victory. Doing this faithfully will mean you will begin staying at (d) more and more.

You must be careful, however, and never become of the opinion that you cannot fall into sin or you will be sure to. The way to victory is to constantly realize that you can fall into sin but that if you keep short accounts with the Holy Spirit, then you don't need to fall into sin. Let the Holy Spirit deal with your inner man (spirit, etc.) and He will keep you from a lot of wrong behaviour.

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