Be holy as I am holy. -GOD

Note: Sin is the ruling of yourself.  Not until you repent or turn from ruling yourself will you be set free from sin. Jesus expressed this dieing to your right to rule yourself as "if you lose your life, you will find it" and "deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me." 

The apostle Paul described it as a death in romans 6.  We willingly die to the right to rule ourselfs and invite Christ to rule our lives completely forever. 

The evidence of a self ruled heart is the battling of inward and outward sin such as lust, unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, envy, strifes, jelousy, covetness, fears and worries that control you.  The self ruled heart is the root of all these sins , it gives birth to all of them and more.

Some have repented of one sin or many sins and have found forgiveness for them and "experience" an temporary relief for the guilt, but they seem to always fall back into them.  Even if theY reform from one major sin-drinking or drugs- other sinS pop up.  This is why many people think they are converted, but as Charles Finney stated this is a false repentance or a false conversion.

A person must fully surrender their whole self to be ruled by Christ supremely-not partly.  The only way to do this is to confess all sins  one at a time, lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, etc.  The Holy Spirit will help an honest heart to do this and reveal more sins that need to be repented of.  As this process goes on you will realize how terrible and truly wicked your ways have been.  How you have ruled youR life in unrighteousness and corruptness before the living God. 

This is a terrible and humbling realization or a reckoning that you have about yourself- how God has really seen you, even though you justified yourself as not being so bad.  As you acknowledge your own self rule which has produce such a sin filled life, that has hurt others and God,  you will deeply desire to completly die to this way of life.  Now it will be a deep cry from your heart for Christ to come in and completly take His rightful place to rule your life in righteousness because you have run it so wickedly.

Even if you are an upstanding church member who conducts his life and business with all intergty but you wrestle with inward sins that no one else knows about-this is evidence you are ruling your life, but just under Gods laws.  But this is not Christianty- this is merely old testiment living with new testiment words.

The steps below may be helpful with this process.  You must see things from Gods point of view!  If you honestly expose yourself before God and repent unto the death to your self rule , you will be set free from sin!  You will know the lasting rest and peace of God-it is the Lord Himself reigning in your heart.   Oh what Joy, oh what Love, there is none like Him in all the earth!  You will never want to be apart from Him-you will never want to rule yourself again for this will separate you from Him.

 Important: the below stepS only express a process and are not necessarly in order.  Some happen simustaniously as you interact with the living God-the Lord Jesus Himself.  The importance is that all these things must take place in your heart and mind for your conversion to be true. 

CONVICTION OF SIN

1. The first important step in repentance is to honestly acknowledge your own personal responsibility for sin.

2. You need to have an awakening of how God sees you.  You are a rebel against Him ruling you.  He see you as a rebel to all He counts dear, as an enemy working against His loving rule, as disobedient to Him causing great hurt to Him and His creation.

You must take time to reason together with God about the seriousness of your actions. And with great humility, guilt and shame agree with Him that this is who you are.

3. You place ourselves at the Judgment seat of Christ and stand before Him as an accused criminal who is sentenced to Hell-a complete separation from His loving kindness and His presence forever.

Steps 1-3 may take days or weeks to be fully awakened to God and your dire situation, we call this conviction.

It’s a state of actually asking honest questions of God.

“God is this how you see me?”

“God do you hate my sin- my self rule?”

An honest heart will not get very far in trying to justify its sin or trying to blame other for their sins. Or pleading ignorance.

When I was under conviction for 2 weeks I honestly but defiantly asked God “hey It’s not fair for you to blame me for Adam and Eves sin I wasn’t even there!” He answered “Oh I don’t blame you for Adam and Eves sin I blame you for YOURS.” I was busted, what could I say I was guilty and rightfully so.

4. He reveals His loving kindness to you through the sacrifice of His dear and only Son Jesus OFFERS us a way of escape if we so choose. 

CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE 

5. The above concepts will become clear as you, with great humility, confess our sins one at a time in detail. There will be snot blowing and tears, and sorrow for the hurt you have caused the Lord and others. You have caused great devastation to His creation by our sin (self rule.) You cry out to Him to forgive your wicked ways. You are lost and plead for His mercy and grace.

(step 5 may take only hours if your young or have had very accurate preaching. But if you are a professing Christian that has sat in church for many years, but have never repented in this fashion it may take longer-months to get to the bottom of all the sin and the deceitfulness.

6 Now you (repent)turn from your own self rule and turn to Him to come in and rule your life once and for all. You make this choice with your will based on what our mind know is truth. You forsake your right to rule yourself ever again.

HE FORGIVES, PARDONS, AND ENTERS 

7 . If God accepts your repentance(and only He can look upon your heart and know if it is true and honest ) then He reaches His hand down and places it on your heads and forgives you personally. God must be persuaded that you really purpose to forsake your sins before he can see it wise and safe to open to you His “flood gates” of mercy. This is not merely a legal contract you have entered into ( although the law has been satisfied) but a personal revealing of Jesus Christ Himself to you.

8. He forgives, cleanses and washes your temple. If repentance is full and true He will reveal the cross to you-that His sacrifice was made for you personally. You will understand and experience His washing, cleansing and forgiveness by His blood.(emotional feel, vision, inward revelation) It will be revealed to your soul. It will be a very deep emotional, cathartic , transforming experience. No other relationship in this world can touch you so deeply. No one will have to assure you of your salvation ever because you have a personal revelation from God Himself of it.

9. Then you invite Him to come into your heart to rule and reign supremely forever! When He makes entrance by His Spirit, you now are converted and are ruled by the loving King of the universe. The fellowship with Him is divine, loving ,kind and blissful. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords lives in your heart!! you have found the true rest and peace for your soul. You cry Abba Father-a child of God.

10. Now that Christ is reigning in your heart, indwelling you, self-rule has been abolished therefore sin has been abolished. Sin now has no rule over you! You are free and liberated from the bondage of sin! The things of the world have no hold over you. All the sinful activity you were involved in holds no interest to you, you only have eyes for your Savior. You are translated from the dark into His marvelous light, made a brand new creature, a born again soul. He is your Way, Truth, Life, now and forever, on earth and in Heaven.

11. Now you grow in His grace and love. Your mind is renewed day by day, you and the Spirit change your thinking from the worlds ways to Gods ways. You have an incredible hunger for the word and spending time with Him through prayer. You will have great reverence and fear for the Lord. You walk in Holiness with the Lord. You work together with Him as a co-working together. Now the adventure begins……

Summary: