You negate the power of the Holy Spirit and His work living inside you. It isn’t an “intellectual” pursuit. It is a desire not to sin.
It is a matter of the ‘changing of the heart’.
In my pride and vanity I can’t self-will my way away from sin, I must let go of sin through surrender of my will to the Higher Power and all that implies, including the Holy Spirit which I certainly was not born with.
I disagree. I lack the ability to negate the infinite and omnipotent power of God. Rather, I have been given the choice by the same God, to obey or not obey. In either case, I do so of my own free will. Otherwise, I would be an automaton.
Do you think Paul, Peter, or any of Christ’s first followers didn’t sin after Pentecost? Do you think God prevented them from sinning? Would you think they would not be Christians if they did sin?
There’s active sinning, which takes calculation and planning like stealing or adultery. This kind can be prevented with free will. Then there’s sinning you can’t control until after you’ve already done it, like coveting.