Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah 31:31-33
Though he was already a well-known open-wheel racecar driver, having won the USAC championship in both 1965 and 1966, few people took Mario Andretti seriously when he qualified for the Daytona 500 in 1967. During practice and qualifying, Andretti noticed a significant difference in one engine that was producing a much higher RPM output. Despite efforts by the team to steer him toward a different engine, Andretti insisted on using that one on race day. His instincts proved correct. He led 112 of the 200 laps, and only one other car was on the same lap when Andretti crossed the finish line to win the race.
In much the same way, all our efforts to do what is right in our own strength are doomed to fail. We are not born good and later turn bad; we are sinners by nature and by choice from the moment we are born. “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3).
What we need is not better effort, but a completely new “engine.” Through salvation, God gives us a new nature. Under the new covenant, He does not merely give commands to follow; He writes His law upon our hearts. When God changes us from the inside, our relationship with Him—and the direction of our lives—is changed forever.
