Recognise Your Sin

The process starts when you are concerned about your sin – the bible calls it Conviction
He (God's Holy Spirit) will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment
(John 16:8)

I Am My Own Worst Enemy

By far the biggest barrier to me or anyone changing their lifestyle is me (or you). My sinful behaviour is so entrenched that without some major new motivation, there is no reason for me to take any initiative to change. In other words, as long as I see nothing wrong in my attitudes and actions I am not going to seek to alter them.

Concept of Conviction

We all have some experience of a pricked conscience whereby we regret some action or something we have said (or not as the case may be). Conviction is like a super-charged conscience, and it is brought about by God's Holy Spirit working with my (or your) spirit.

We come to see our sinful attitudes and behaviour with more of the horror with which God views them. We come to appreciate that our lives are not what they ought to be and are basically unacceptable.

Chances are that we will also have that sense of foreboding that one day everything that is wrong must be judged and all wrongs will be righted.

There are Important Choices to Make

Without conviction at some level, there is no incentive to do anything to bring about change in our lives. When we experience conviction, however, we have a choice to make:

We can choose to ignore the warning signs, in which case we effectively harden our hearts against overtures from God, or

We may determine to change ourselves. If we are blessed with strong will power, we may achieve considerable reform without outside help. In fact, some of us may have more scope for reform than others. What is certain, however, is that you can never fully succeed in making your life righteous and, even if you could, there is all your past life that has to be taken into account.