4. You do not believe.
“You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent” (John 5:38).
Notice the word for. Why is it that God’s Word does not abide in you? Because you do not believe the one he has sent.
Why is it that some people who profess to be Christians never seem to grow? They go to Bible studies. They get involved in ministry. They have Christian friends. But the Word does not seem to bear fruit in their lives. Why is that? Jesus says, “[It is because] you do not believe the one whom he has sent” (5:38).
Turn that around: If you were to really start believing and trusting in Jesus, if you were to start looking to him to bring change in your life, and you were to start believing that he can and that he will, then the Word of God that has been bouncing off you without making any impression would start to go in. It would remain in you and it would begin to change your life.
5. You do not love God.
“I know that you do not have the love of God within you” (John 5:42).
This is why your heart is so hard. You may congratulate yourself on all kinds of good things that you do, but you don’t have the first thing that God requires of you. You do not have the love of God in you. If you did, your heart would not be hard.
Do you see any of these signs of a hard heart in yourself?