“Must” is an interesting word in the English language. It indicates a necessity, requirement, or unavoidable conclusion (“I must pay that bill.” “What goes up must come down.”).

Depending on the translation, the word “must” appears between 67-119 times in the New Testament. The Bible uses this word to indicate some necessary requirements to be met and some unavoidable circumstances to be faced.

1. We Must Believe in God. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Our relationship with God begins with and is maintained with our faith. If we are going to please God, we must believe that He exists and believe He is worthy of our trust; that He has the intention and the power to keep His word. There is enough evidence to prove God exists (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20), and the Bible more than establishes a perfect track record of God’s ability to keep His promises.

2. We Must Be Born Again. A man named Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. Like many Jews, Nicodemus believed the kingdom of God belonged to him by right of physical birth. Being a Jew, he mistakenly thought he was automatically entitled to the blessings of God’s kingdom. Jesus shocked him when he said he was not yet a part of the kingdom. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus was further perplexed with the idea of having to be born a second time. Jesus explained that one must undergo a spiritual rebirth to be a part of the kingdom, then said, “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’” (v. 7).

Paul spoke of this same need to be reborn in Titus 3:5. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” We are saved when we receive the “washing of regeneration.” The “regeneration” is being born again. “Washing” indicates this rebirth takes place at baptism. It is after baptism that we rise to walk in newness of life (we are born again – Rom. 6:4).

We must be born again. We must come to God on His terms. There is no other way we can be forgiven of our sins and enter the Kingdom of God.

3. We Must Worship God Correctly. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). Jesus mentions “true worshipers,” who are set apart from all others who attempt to worship. God is seeking these kinds of worshipers. To be acceptable to God, our worship must be in spirit and truth.

To worship God in spirit means to worship with our hearts involved. We cannot disengage our minds, go through the motions, and expect to have pleased God. “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Matt. 15:8). To worship God in truth means to worship the way God has specified in His word. God’s word is truth (John 17:17) and sets forth a pattern we must follow.

4. We Must Take Our Salvation Seriously. The writer of Hebrews warned, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Heb. 2:1). There is always a danger of drifting away from God. This is avoided by giving constant and earnest heed to the truth we have heard, believed, and begun to obey.

Drifting is something that is done slowly. While we would notice an abrupt departure from the truth, small steps often go unnoticed. Uncorrected, these small steps add up and lead to bigger steps. They also harden our hearts against the danger of being off course. The next thing we know, we have shipwrecked our faith (1 Tim. 1:19).

Instead, we must be diligent in adding virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love to our faith (2 Pet. 1:5-7); constantly growing “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (3:18).

5. We Must Answer to God. Why should we consider it a necessity or obligation to believe in God and worship Him correctly? Why should we take our salvation seriously? Because we will have to answer to God for the way we live our lives. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).

There is a great day coming in which everyone who has ever lived will be brought before the Lord in judgment (Matt. 25:31-33, 46). This will not be the opportunity for us to plead our case before God. It will be a day of sentencing; a day of receiving according to the things we have done. Today is the day to argue our case (2 Cor. 6:2). Today is the day to get ready to meet the Lord in judgment. This is an appointment we must all keep.

Conclusion: Our world tries to deny absolutes and undesirable responsibilities. God’s word seeks to equip us so that we are prepared for eternity. There are some things we must do. Are we doing them?