“The secret of deliverance from sin is not to do something but to rest in what God has already done.” -Watchman Nee
Nee is expressing the totality of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Not only for us but in us. There have been centuries of debate over how salvation happens and what role human decision plays in conversion. Part of the problem with the debate is that it often demands that God’s work and human freedom have to be exclusive. In God’s purposes those two things do go together.
My believe in Christ’s total and full power to save does not require my belief to be true, it is true because God has proclaimed it true. But my salvation does require that I believe in what Christ has done. Nee’s point is simply that we need to believe Christ has done the saving and trust Him. To “rest” in that truth is in fact doing something thought that runs contrary to our human reasoning.
There are great books and helpful strategies for changing bad habits. But only Christ can change sinful hearts and there is not a program for that. We must yield ourselves to God, trust and follow. Following Him might lead to some of those good books, but then those change of habits come for a heartfelt source. Once we surrender to Christ changing us from the the inside out, the outside becomes much more clear.