A New Heart
A high standard to live up to
===
I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; I will remove the hearts of stone from their bodies and I will give them tender hearts, so that they may follow my statutes and observe my regulations and carry them out. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 11:19-20 (NET)
===
In the midst of the old covenant, here we have a promise from God giving some details on the new covenant.
Today, we can see how God fulfilled this promise:
By giving us the Holy Spirit when we come to faith in Christ.
In essence, this is the new heart of flesh, replacing the old, dead heart of stone.
Our sinful spirit is thrown out and we have a new spirit in its place.
We’re not perfect yet, but we have God working on us, turning us into a closer and closer image of Christ.
It should be obvious by our life & actions that we are people of God.
That’s the high standard to live up to.
I want to be a man who honors God with my actions. I want to do it so well that the only conclusion someone on the outside could make is, “he must be a Christian. That’s the only explanation.”
Of course this isn’t an easy goal.
Both the Enemy from outside and my own sinful flesh inside make this difficult.
I am constantly pulled back into sinful actions by the desires of the flesh, eyes, and the pride of life.
Just like Adam & Eve were deceived thousands of years ago.
We haven’t changed much.
Except now I have God living inside me, helping me.
Again, because of the new covenant.
That makes all the difference.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2026 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.