1. You do not know God.
“The Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard…” (John 5:37).
This must have been really hard for these folks to hear. These were people who came to worship and were involved in ministry, and Jesus says to them: “You do not know God. Everybody thinks you know God, but despite all that you say about God, the truth is that you don’t know him.”
Here is where you need to begin when your heart is hard. It is possible to call yourself a Christian when the truth is that you really do not know God. Stop claiming what’s not true. Face up to the reality that you are actually far from God and that, left to yourself, you have no hope of finding him. Thank God Jesus is reaching out to you even now.
2. God’s truth is not in you.
“You do not have his word abiding in you…” (John 5:38).
These leaders had the Word of God in the Old Testament, and they knew it well enough to argue from the Bible!
Think about a person who has been in a church where the Bible is preached, a person who has heard many sermons that are faithful to the Bible. They have heard the truth, but Jesus says, “God’s Word does not abide in you.”
You hear the truth, but when it touches you, it bounces off you like a billiard ball. The Word of God does not go in you. You hear it but it does not remain with you. No lasting impression is made. No lasting change results.
Where do you see signs in yourself of a hardening heart?
