Grace Reigns Through Righteousness
Greetings to all my brothers and sisters,
Romans 5:21 says, “… just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Grace is such a great gift from God. It is God’s way to express His never-ending love and forgiveness to those who are in Christ. To enter into God’s grace one must be baptized into His death.
Romans 6:1-4 says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
“We too may live a new life” A new life means a different life. A life that’s dead to sin! I remember when I was baptized in 1993 … November 3rd. I was baptized in a pool in Burbank, California. My life was changed in every way. I was 31 years old. For the past 17 years I was dead in my sins.
Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
Dead in sin and disobedient go hand in hand for someone under the control of Satan, (the ruler of the kingdom of the air.) You see, grace reigns through righteousness! Only when a person makes a conscious decision based on bibical faith to be baptized into Christ and be saved, will the power of God go into the heart of that person and change them. Change them with a new attitude that says “I DIED TO SIN, HOW CAN I LIVE IN IT ANY LONGER?”
For me it meant no more drugs or cigarettes. No more immorality, impurity, ï¬?lthly language. It meant obeying Mark 12:30 which says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
That means every day I will strive to put God 1st in all my behavior, thoughts, priorities and decisions. When I fail and sin, God’s grace is there for me to be forgiven once I repent and step back into righteousness.
When I sin, I feel guilty, bad, sad, angry, lonely, insecure, hopeless, ect. I don’t like those feelings that my sin brings into my heart and soul. So I strive to repent quickly. I need power from God everyday through prayer and reading scripture. I ask God to help me to hate sin in my life and to not desire it. And he answers me! God is my master. I am His servant. I will never stop striving to obtain His Son Jesus’s heart in me until I die physically, and go to Him for eternity.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Life is short, then we get to go to Heaven! Love, your brother in Christ,
Chris Chloupek
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a ï¬?eld. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that ï¬?eld. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for ï¬?ne pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-46
Why did we come all the way from Australia to Phoenix? This was the question my wife and I asked ourselves as we sat in the Airport at Los Angeles after already having traveled 17 hours with our two kids awaiting the next plane connection. The simple answer was that we were disillusioned with the remaining two parts of what was the ICOC Church in our home town of Brisbane and after checking out other traditional churches of Christ and other denominational churches. I had been reading the articles on the Portland Website for inspiration and a year ago I had read the article by Chris Chloupek about starting a new congregation. I related to that as we made a decision to leave the church we were attending and start a home group. We had limited success over the last year, some Sundays were encouraging with eight of us, we had a few studies but two months ago it ended up just being the two of us on Sunday and we admitted we needed help. That’s when we called Chris. From that ï¬?rst call we have received nothing but love and encouragement ï¬?rstly from Chris and then a myriad of other disciples, even offers to help pay for flights if need be. I came off the phone as king myself, here is a guy who does not know me from a bar of soap and he is pouring out all the love he can in what ever way he can to me, a perfect stranger, except that I am a struggling Christian. It has been a long time since I had encountered that type of love (John 13:34-35). My wife and I decided to change our holiday plans, take money out of our mortgage to bring the whole family to visit the church in Phoenix, and three weeks later I received a pay raise that more than covered the cost of our flights. God is awesome.
What we found in Phoenix:
We were greeted at the airport by I think about a third of the church, put up in the home of the Sullivans (immediate new friends who’s children are now our children’s new best friends ever). Then we spent Saturday night with the Chloupeks, who had laid out a feast for us despite having no kitchen. After dinner we satdown to talk deeply about our concerns, and the ï¬?rst thing Chris said was, “Hang on let me get my Bible. “It was refreshing to ï¬?nd people who just wanted to keep to the Bible, and who had a passion for saving the lost. Sunday we went early to church to see the children’s ministry, only to see servants ready to help with the children. Of note to me was a single mother with three kids who was there to serve instead of being focused on her needs. Then I saw a sight that will stay with me for a very long time: the start of the Latin ministry in Phoenix. One brother who had set up the hall with about 20 chairs preaching to an empty hall except one visitor. It was as if he was preaching and singing to a company of angles. The song “though none go with me, still I will follow” has new meaning every time I sing it now. That image will keep me going when times get tough. The Sunday worship service was full of happy, friendly, encouraging Christians with smiles and excited visiting friends, the message was biblical, the welcome truly welcoming, the fellowship electric, most of the time I just cried or tried to hold back my tears. You don’t know the true value of a godly church until you can’t ï¬?nd one for a few years.
We had lunch with a bunch of young Christians with only the future in their hearts, listening to them share how they were converted and how God had worked in their life was really inspiring. We then went to a leaders’ meeting where a brother who I did not even know had come especially to make us a cake before he had to quickly leave for work (a cake worthy of world renown). At the leaders meeting there was another great biblical lesson on how to build a church, and then there was talk about individuals for whom they were praying to help become Christians.
Sunday night was more fellowship with Christians with a similar story to ours who had moved to the church. We stayed up late talking with the Sullivans about more biblical issues and it all got a bit strong as we wrestled with the Bible. I really appreciated their deep convictions coupled with humility. Monday night we went up in the mountains to look out over Phoenix and ended up praying for the lost. It is interesting, when you see the enormity of the work to be done, how all the little issues pale into insigni�cance. I felt so ashamed of the sel�shness of worrying about myself and my family over the last three years, and how it had all become about us and not about the lost who needed saving. Tuesday we attended the staff meeting, more Bible, more concern for the lost.
So what did we �nd in Phoenix? BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN LOVE, selfless people who served us, people focused on saving the lost instead of focused on themselves, people who were humble to the Bible, a group of singles who want nothing better than to go into the full time ministry to be used by God to the maximum. This was the God focused church I was baptized into in 1990; that had somehow lost its way in the other parts of the world I had visited. Lord help me never forget what a real church is meant to look like.
For all your love, courage, faith and kindness we will always be grateful; and until we see you again next year we are ever in your debt for regenerating our faith.
Luv,
Joe, Kerry, Luke and Alex Willis
Mark Garrido was baptized into Christ last Sunday! Pictured with him are Brandyn Revis (who reached out to him) & several brothers who studied with him: Luke Speckman, Carlos Wick & Anthony Patterson.
