If you are reading this and have recently surrendered your life to Jesus, we want you to know that we are rejoicing with you regardless of your background! When we first encounter Christ, the feeling is unexplainable. While some aspects of our experience with God may be difficult to articulate, our faith rests on the solid foundation of God’s Word. Scripture gives insight into how God works in the human heart and mind. If you have recently called out to God for salvation but still find yourself asking, “What just happened?”, this blog post is for you.
What Do You Mean, Saved?
In the third chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul made an all-encompassing observation, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Although some people wish to debate this, we all know it instinctually. We have all done things that we know are not right. Those things often leave us with feelings of guilt and shame. We know that our actions were offensive to God because, if we are honest, they were even offensive to us. Bible scholars sometimes speak of people having a sinful nature. What is meant by this is that sin isn’t just something that happens on occasion. Rather, sin tends to present itself as a compulsive tendency. It is something that people experience over and over, with its effects continually compounding. Sin is destructive. It is foreign to God’s original design for humanity.
The Bible expresses this truth in many places. One of those is in the sixth chapter of Romans. Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). Death. Destruction. These are the natural results of sin. Sin causes us to self-destruct, which leads to spiritual death. If we do not repent, turning to God, that death can become eternal.
We were all designed by a loving Creator. When we treat our bodies and minds in ways that they were not designed to be treated, the inevitable result is destruction. I gave my daughter a violin for Christmas. It is hers, and in a very real sense she has a right to do whatever she wants to do with it. However, if she chooses to use it as a baseball bat, the violin will be destroyed and lose its value. What if she uses it as a bat, crushes it, and then she carries it back to me complaining that her violin is broken? I am going to tell her, “Grace, I love you, but that violin was made to make beautiful music. There was nothing wrong with it, but you used it for something it wasn’t designed for, and now it’s crushed.” Too often, this is exactly what we do to God. He designed us to make beautiful music. We were created to display His glory to all of creation and to model what a healthy relationship with Him and with others looks like. Because God loves us, He gave us freedom to make our own decisions. However, sin is foreign to God’s design for humanity. It is using the violin as a bat. It crushes us, destroying our ability to fulfill our purpose. The wages of sin is death. It is truly ironic how often we do things that we were not made for and then grow angry at the very One who made us. Thankfully, in spite of our sin, our Maker offers us the gift of eternal life. He re-forms the violin. He saves us from our own self-initiated destruction. Romans chapter ten says,
…'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.’ This is the word of faith that we preach: 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed…’ (Romans 10:8-11)
What do we mean, saved? When we put our faith in Christ, turning from our sins, He saves us from destruction, from guilt, and from shame. He restores us to the design and purpose for which we were created and gives us a living, vibrant relationship with Himself.
What Do You Mean, Born Again?
If you hang around Link Church or most any Christian church for long, you will hear the word, saved. You will also hear the phrase, born again. What does that mean? The phrase originates in a story from the Gospel of John about an encounter between Jesus and a religious leader named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was part of a group called the Pharisees that had mostly rejected the idea that Jesus was the Savior who was promised by Old Testament scriptures. Nicodemus was deeply impressed by the miracles Jesus was working and by the wisdom with which He spoke. He came to Jesus under cover of darkness and said, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher who has come from God. For no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Rather than being impressed by the compliment, Jesus responded, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus was astounded by such a bizarre statement! He asked, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4). There is a certain level of logic to the question Nicodemus asked. At face value, the suggestion that a person needs to be born a second time seems absurd. Jesus, however, was not talking about being born “naturally” a second time. He was speaking of a supernatural birth, a spiritual birth. He explained,
Truly, truly I say to you, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
The first birth is our natural birth when we enter this world. The second birth is a spiritual birth, when God takes away our sinfulness, gives us a new nature, and makes us part of His family. From the moment of our natural birth, everyone knows that we are part of the human race. Likewise, from the moment when we are born again, we become part of the family of God.
What Do You Mean, New Creation?
A third phrase that is often used to describe our experience with Christ is, new creation. The Bible is pretty self-explanatory on this matter, but it’s definitely worth mentioning. In Second Corinthians chapter five, verse seventeen, the Modern English Version reads,
Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.
The wording of the English Standard Version of the Bible in this passage is especially beautiful.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The old has passed away…the new has come. What powerful words! We are all different, and yet we are all the same. Each of us has a unique story. We have celebrated, suffered, and sinned in different ways throughout our lives. We have each faced brokenness because of our decisions and found ourselves in need of a Savior. Still, we are all the same. We need Jesus. Only four verses later, the Apostle Paul explains how God made it possible for us to become new. “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Christ was completely without sin; yet, He willingly suffered and died on the cross. Crucifixion was a punishment that the ancient Romans used for the worst lawbreakers. He paid the penalty for crimes He did not commit. He did it for us. Galatians chapter three offers further insight,
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us—as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 so that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. -Galatians 3:13-14
There is absolutely no reason why the curse of sin should have ever touched Jesus. He committed no sin. He did no wrong. Still, He willingly endured the curse in our place so that we could freely experience God’s blessing in His place. He redeemed us.
Not only do we need Christ, but we also need His people, His family. A lot of people have had bad church experiences. This is unfortunate. Jesus Himself had some pretty terrible experiences with religious people. Nonetheless, He said, “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). Toxic encounters with those who claimed to know God did not cause Jesus to tell everyone to avoid association with people of faith. Rather, He chose to build His church as what it should be. We are invited to be part of that. We were all sinners, but when we come to Jesus, “the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” When God makes us new, we are welcomed into relationship with Him personally. We are also welcomed into relationship with others who have also been made new creations. Does that mean everything is perfect? No. We don’t claim to always get everything right. What it does mean is that when we are saved, born again, and made a new creation, we are given the gift of family…and God’s family is beautiful!
Our Vision
Part of our vision at Link Church is described in these words, “Together, we will establish a home for our Link family—a place where people from diverse cultural backgrounds gather to worship God in unity…” When we dream about what God could accomplish in our communities, this is what we envision:
This transformation will bless our community with strong marriages, healthy families, recovered addicts, and decreased crime and incarceration rates. We will establish a solid foundation for Link Church to flourish now and for many future generations. We will always welcome new individuals and families as part of our growing Link family. We will function in multiple locations, but we will exist as one family of God, never limiting our influence to a single location or people group.
Christ’s Church Is Not Limited to a Single Place
One thing I love about being part of the family of God is that we are not limited to a single location. Week after week, believers gather in churches all over the world to worship God and to celebrate the things He is doing across the globe. Link Church has locations in Clarksville, Oark, and Lavaca. In addition to our various locations, our communities are blessed with many amazing congregations and leaders that work together to bring the message of Christ to our area. This last picture is from a night when many of those churches came together to worship God. On the night pictured below, Pastor Joe Lancaster with Trinity Pentecostal Church of God brought a powerful message to our Link family. This picture also includes Pastor John Hodge with Mountain Top Assembly of God, Pastor Robert Boen with Salus Church Ministries, and numerous believers from different fellowships. If you are reading this blog and you have a church home, be faithful there and continue growing in your faith. If you do not have a church family, we encourage you to get connected right away. There is no reason to try to live out your faith alone when God has placed excellent places of worship all around you. Get Linked to other believers. You might be amazed what God does when you do!
A few Sundays ago, we celebrated the baptism of seven individuals who have declared their faith in Jesus. We rejoice with them that they have been saved, born again, and are new creations. I have included a link to their baptism video if you would like to celebrate with us. Have you recently given your life to Christ and would like to know more about the next steps you can take? Feel free to send me an email so that one of our staff members can reach out and discuss what God is doing in your life. We are excited to visit with you!
You can contact me at robbie@getlinkedchurch.org
Want to learn more about Link Church? Visit our website here.
Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. -Acts 2:38