When I am able to get my life straightened out, then I'll start going to church

When convicted of their sins by the preaching of the Spirit-inspired
Word (John 16:8), many will say something like, "When I am able to get my
life straightened out, then I'll get baptized and start going to church."
The result is that it never happens, and they die lost. Why? We are told in
Romans 8:13, that it is "by the Spirit that we put to death the deeds of the
body." Your spirit wars against your flesh so that you cannot do what you
want (Galatians 5:17). You need the strength of God's Spirit (Ephesians
3:16), to be victorious in your battles against fleshy desires (cf. 1John
5:4). Christians have an inner strength that is absent in non-Christians,
and that inner strength comes from the Spirit whom God gives to all who obey
Him (Acts 5:32). The Spirit is given at the moment one repents and is
baptized into Christ for the remission of his past sins (Acts 2:38).
When one repents, he is sorry that he has sinned against God, and
determines in his mind from that point on to begin obeying the word of God.
Once that takes place, that one will want to obey the Lord and be baptized
into Christ (Romans 6:3-4), where there is salvation (2Timothy 2:10). When
one is scripturally baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27), he then receives
a "gift." That gift is the Holy Spirit whom God gives to the individual as
a guarantee of inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). And, it is the same Spirit that
helps us destroy the "works of the flesh" (Romans 8:13). You cannot do it
alone! Don't put it off. Don't wait. Make the determination to begin
obeying God's will today (2Corinthians 2:6d).