New Essential Worship band Iron Bell Music is formed primarily by the songwriters and worship leaders Stephen McWhirter, Joel Gerdis and Josh Glauber. Their debut album God That Saves is highlighted by confessional and biblical lyrics. The tracks grew organically out of worship nights that the group held in a barn near Louisville, Kentucky.

If you've been desperately waiting for a fresh filling of Christ-focused, catchy songs about relying completely on God's grace, then don't miss out on this album. These songs all express the deep love Jesus has for us and how His mercy and grace is something we don't deserve, which causes our hearts to overflow with gratefulness. Every song is a great expression of that thankfulness back to God. I had the opportunity to interview Stephen McWhirter about "God That Saves."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

This is a song about the Person of God, His name, His nature, that He saves. It's a song and it's also my story. For me, I grew up a preacher's son, and the man I saw in public and the man I saw in private didn't align, so I wanted nothing to do with it. In my teens, I started rebelling by smoking and drinking. By the time I was fifteen, I was doing cocaine. When I was seventeen and into my twenties I was a crystal meth addict, doing it every day for five years. During this time, I was very strongly against Christianity. I would cuss people out if they mentioned Jesus around me. 

There were a lot of people praying for me, and they gave me a book about Jesus. The fact that I accepted this book is probably the most miraculous part of my story. Fast forward, I'm living in a house with seven musicians, and I'm in bed with drugs on the bedside table. At 3 o'clock in the morning I'm reading this book about Jesus, blowing up everything people think about the conditions you need to be saved. I encountered the presence of God that night. 

It's the kindness of the Lord for me, being a preacher's son. It probably couldn't happen in a pew in a church for me. I had a private non-verbal conversation with the Lord. I knew someone was in the room with me. I remember the thought coming to me from the Lord that He was real, He was good, and what was I going to do about it? I told the Lord that I wanted to quit being a drug addict, and I didn't know how. I thought I was going to die, but I couldn't imagine quitting. I remember a thought came from the Lord that I wouldn't have to do it alone, He would do it. 

It was one of those moments where I really believed Him. I fell to my knees in that room, gave my life to Christ at that moment, and I quit everything overnight. I know not everyone can do that, but it's what happened to me. I was in a physical and mental lockdown for about a month, but I had a willpower that was not my own. I quit, and a year later a church hired me as a worship leader. In that room, I encountered the God that saves. He is able to take what is broken and seems un-mendable and redeem from addiction to redemption. That's what this song is about.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Psalm 68:20 (NKJV): "Our God is the God of salvation; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death."

Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV): But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved.

John 17:3 (NKJV): "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

Zephaniah 3:17 (The Voice): The Eternal your God is standing right here among you, and He is the champion who will rescue you. He will joyfully celebrate over you; He will rest in His love for you; He will joyfully sing because of you like a new husband.

Philippians 1:21 (NIV): "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

2 Kings 3:14-15 (NKJV): And Elisha said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician. Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him."

What is the takeaway message?

This song is my story. I remember spending time with God and worshiping Him and praising Him for what He has done in my life. This song is birthed out of that personal experience, and is me talking to the Lord. 

There's a bit of Scripture I love in 2 Kings 3, where "when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him." That was a revelation from the Lord. I thought it was interesting that there needed to be music playing. That's not a new thing. I believe that music is emotional on purpose by the Lord, not to manipulate people with music emotionally, but because the Lord intended it to stir people's emotions and get them to listen to what He is saying. There's a part of who we are emotionally where music helps us focus. I think that's cool, the effect that music has to engage people to hear what the Lord is saying. 

Foundational to our ministry is that we get together and pray and worship the Lord as a community. We aren't a church. We meet in a renovated barn in Louisville, Kentucky. We meet and play music and pray together. We take the fluff away and pray to be in God's presence. Adoration and declaring why we love Him, using His Word and what He says about Himself, is the foundation for our worship. The songs are meant to declare the nature of God. When you've experienced God in your life, you legitimately fall in love with Him. Eternal life is to know God.

Lyrics:
This soul once torn and beaten
Left without reason to move on
Then You reached down and brought me
Up from the valley of dry bones

You are that God that saves
You are the One who rescues me
You rescue me
You are the God that saves
And You called me from the grave
You rescue me

Ransomed out of the wreckage
Pulled from the ashes
Of sin's hold
Hope is flowing through these veins
Life born from grace, Grace alone

I hear the song
I hear the song of victory ring over me

The bridge of this song expresses the thought of the response of God singing over us as expressed in Zephaniah 3:17. We can all know that when we bring our heavy hearts to God in sincere prayer, He hears us and sings back to us. He wants a relationship with us, and He is rejoicing over us with singing. The beauty of a song like "God That Saves" is to allow these words of comfort to cover us and to celebrate God's joyfulness in finding His lost sheep. It is a beautiful picture of His love for us. When you listen to the song, allow the thought "I hear the song of victory ring over me" to bring you to a place of worship.

The key takeaway for the song is found in these lyrics: "Hope is flowing through these veins, life born from grace, grace alone." You don't have to strive anymore. You can't earn your way into Heaven. Jesus already paid that price for us. God's mercy and grace is new each day, and it is not based on our performance or what we can do for God. He pours out His mercy despite what we've done. There's nothing we can do except trust in His Son, Jesus. This song does an excellent job of explaining what grace is all about. My pastor uses the acronym "God's Riches at Christ's Expense" to define grace. The "irrefutable argument" we have as believers is to share our story of grace. This song celebrates the day that we were saved from our sins and causes listeners to reflect on and celebrate their salvation experience. 

This song is ultimately about our Savior, Jesus, who overcame the grave. It's about submitting all of ourselves to Him and His goodness and allowing His blood to cover us and run through our veins. That's how we can "overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony." By stepping into the Lord's ability instead of relying on ourselves, we are empowered by the supernatural ability of God. When you are feeling alone or confused about the world and life is overwhelming, you can always know that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. His love for us will never change, and nothing can separate us from it. We were dead in our sins, and by grace we were saved and made alive in Christ! That's cause to celebrate and sing: "You are that God that saves, You are the One who rescues me, You rescue me." Amen to that!

Watch the band sing the song below.