Belief Is Foundational

“But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe” (John 5:38).
 
Jesus rebukes the Jews severely in this passage because they have refused to believe Him—they have refused to accept the truths He has been teaching them and they have refused to give up their former ways and to change their lives to conform to His new doctrine. Thus, He says, the word does not abide in them.
 
Even though they are refusing to obey Him, His greater condemnation is that they do not believe Him, thus indicating that when a person doesn’t obey the teachings of the inspired message, he is, first and foremost, showing a lack of belief.
 
This thought should give us pause, causing us to stop and think seriously before we make a decision about any action we take either in our everyday physical lives or more especially about actions we take in our spiritual lives.