Jesus said “If any many will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24) The thing that is at the root of our spiritual problems, and that leads to failure and discouragement in our lives is not the individual sins we commit, but the self that commits them. To deal with the sins, while leaving self on the throne is like removing the fruits off a tree while leaving the tree planted in fertile ground. It will be only a matter of time and the fruits will reappear and be even bigger and more numerous. Only when self is denied the right to rule and have its way is the victorious life in Christ possible.