No Other Name

In our society, in our world, I think - and you’re free to disagree with me on this one - but I think we have a tendency to make things more important than they are. I don’t know why we do it, I’m sure there are any number of reasons, but we seem to love making mountains out of mole hills. I mean, raise your hand if you’ve ever made a bigger deal out of something and then looked back to realize it wasn’t that big of a deal. And I think one of the ways we do this is that we confuse “must” (or have to or need to) and “should.” Let me give you some examples so you can see what I’m talking about.

I should be nice to my brothers, but do I really have to? Must I?

I should try my hardest on my school work, but do I really have to? Must I?

I should put my shopping cart back in the coral when I’m done with it, but do I really have to? Must I?

I should signal before I change lanes, but do I really have to? Must I?

I should go to church every Sunday, but do I really have to? Must I?

I should follow God’s commands, but do I really have to? Must I?

And the reality for each of these hypothetical situations is this, no I don’t have to. In each of these situations I should, but I don’t have to. And that’s what our reading is dealing with today when it says “there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”

Now, you might say “what does that have to do with the difference between ‘must’ and ‘should’?” And that’s a good question, I’m so glad you asked, because you need a little more background. This passage is part of a larger booked called Galatians, written by a guy named Paul, and the big issue he’s dealing with is that there are people saying you need more than faith in Christ to be saved. They were saying you also had to do a bunch of things and say your prayers a certain way and a handful of other things. And Paul is saying that’s a distortion. Not that all of those other things are bad, but you don’t need them to be saved. And when it comes to the Gospel, when it comes to the difference between heaven and hell, I think it’s pretty important that we get this as clear as we can. This is one place where it’s pretty important to know the difference between “must” and “should.”

A Fundamental Difference

So what’s the difference? What is the difference between “should” and “must?” Well, fundamentally, there’s a difference in definition.

“Must” means that you are obligated to do something, it is a necessity, it is something that cannot be overlooked or missed.

“Should” means that something would be correct, it is desirable, it is probable, it is something used to give advice or suggestion.

A Little Game

And the definition of these words isn’t the only thing that sets them apart, the content that they can describe looks different too. And with that in mind I want to play a little bit of a game with you guys. I’m going to tell you something and I want you to tell me whether it’s a must or a should, okay? If you think it’s a must to go to heaven, I want you to raise your right hand and if I see mostly right hands I will stand over on this side of the stage. If you think it’s something you should do or think or say, I want you to raise your left hand and if I see mostly left hands I will stand over on this side of the stage. So let’s practice, if you think something is a should. What if you think something is a must? Alright, we got this.

Let’s start easy - put your grocery cart away in the coral when you’re done with it. SHOULD

Not use the express line if you have more than 15 items. SHOULD

Signal when you are turning or changing lanes. SHOULD

Turn in your assignments on time. SHOULD

Alright, you’ve got the easy ones. Let’s try some trickier ones - remember, the game is raise your right hand if it’s a must to go to heaven and your left hand if it’s something you should do or think or say.

Go to church every Sunday morning. SHOULD

Attend a weekly Bible study. SHOULD

Attend a weekly small group. SHOULD

Pray before meals, after meals, when you wake up, and when you go to sleep. SHOULD

That’s right, these are all things we should do - good things to do. Your salvation doesn’t depend on any of them. Now I’ve got one more for you.

Confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. MUST

Endgame

So these words, these ideas of ‘must’ and ‘should’ are different by definition. They’re also vastly different in their contents. There are a lot of things we should do, there’s only one thing we must do.

Which brings us to the most notable difference, but maybe the hardest to understand and wrap our heads around. This might be the single most difficult, radical, unbelievable part of the Christian faith. And it’s a difference that a good friend of mine noticed the first time she read the Gospel.

I was in a class at the Seminary and the professor said something pretty strong about the power of the story of the Gospel and how impactful it can be to someone without any additional explanation. So I figured I would put that idea to the test. I had a friend from Vanderbilt who happened to also be living in St. Louis at the time read the book of Mark - I picked that one because it’s the shortest of the four Gospels. She had never read the Bible before. Afterwards, she and I sat down for lunch to talk about it. I mostly wanted to hear what her first impressions were and to be a person she could ask questions to. Her biggest takeaway, and I’ll never forget this, was that you didn’t have to do anything to be saved - all you had to do was believe.

You see, because there are a lot of things we should do. But if we don’t, in the end, it won’t matter. You aren’t going to heaven because you were a good person, you aren’t any more condemned for being an evil one. What matters is your faith in Jesus Christ. Your belief that He died on the cross and rose from the dead. Your belief that by doing so, He paid the price for all of your sins. That’s the most controversial part of our faith, you don’t earn salvation - that’s a free gift. And that’s the most significant difference between ‘must’ and ‘should.’ If you fail with the “should’s” you will be forgiven because of the ‘must.’

Don’t Forget Either

But none of that is to say that the “should’s” don’t matter. And this should manifest in my preaching and in everything else we do as a church. The first priority is, and always should be, the Gospel. And I do my best to make sure that every sermon reminds you, week after week, that Christ’s work for you saves you. No. Matter. What. But the things we should do matter as well. So when I preach, I’m going to do my best to faithfully tell you what God says we should do. How He says we should think about Him, how He says we should relate to Him, how He says we should relate to each other. Because God does tell us how we should think, how we should act, how we should live and that matters - but it isn’t what saves you. Nothing but the sacrifice of Jesus does that. So don’t ignore the “should,” but never forget the “must.”