What we believe.

The Bible is our final authority and the sole source of the knowledge that produces spiritual growth. Paul calls the church “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15), and Peter writes that we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). The believer is expected to know, for Paul calls ignorance shame (1 Corinthians 15:34). Every doctrine we teach is drawn from the Scriptures and explained in the light of the apostles’ epistles. Any printed translation is welcome in our gatherings, including the KJV, NKJV, AMP, ESV, and NLT, though we most often teach from the KJV.

God is love, and His love is not partial. John tells us that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16), and Paul adds, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). His love is not measured by material things, for that would make it partial toward the rich and absent from the poor; it is shown alike to all in the giving of His Son. He is faithful, He is benevolent, He does not do evil, and there is no shadow of turning in Him. Peter, learning this firsthand at Cornelius’ house, declared, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).

We hold to the gospel as Paul delivered it: “how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). His death answered our sins; His resurrection is the ground of our justification, our righteousness, and the giving of the Holy Ghost. The believer has been crucified with Him, buried with Him, and raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). Because of who He is and what He has done, His conduct is now the pattern for ours.

Salvation is received the same way God’s love is received, by believing. The Philippian jailor was told, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31), and Paul writes, “with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). It is by trusting the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins. Our response to God’s love is to believe in the giving of His Son.

We believe every sin is forgiven the moment a person believes on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul writes, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). The forgiveness Christ purchased at the cross covers past, present, and future sins; it is not periodic and it is not conditional on our performance. John writes, “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). The blood of Jesus speaks for the believer continually, and the believer walks in the conscious knowledge of forgiveness, not under the weight of condemnation.

The moment a man believes, he becomes “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul prays “that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 6); the believer’s faith grows effective by precise knowledge of who he now is. We are chosen, adopted, forgiven, sealed, sanctified, and justified, and in Him we have “boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him” (Ephesians 3:12).

We believe the believer has been made the righteousness of God in Christ. Paul writes, “he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Righteousness is not earned by works or religious effort; it is a gift received by faith. The believer is justified the moment he believes (Romans 3:24), declared righteous in the courtroom of heaven, and he stands before God not in his own goodness but in the perfect righteousness of Christ, with boldness and access (Ephesians 3:12). He walks in this righteousness as the new creature he now is.

Eternal life is the very life of God given to everyone who believes; the Greek zoe speaks of the life that is in Him. Jesus said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). This life is not something we keep; we are kept in it, for after believing we “were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13), the earnest of our inheritance. The Spirit secures us, and He abides with us for ever (John 14:16).

Salvation itself is the receiving of the Spirit. Paul writes of “the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5), and asks the Corinthians, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). We are the habitation of the Spirit. He was given at Jesus’ resurrection, received by the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:2), and He abides with us for ever (John 14:16), because we are sealed in Him, not securing Him.

We believe the Holy Ghost gives gifts to the body for edification. Paul writes, “when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:26). In our gatherings believers are to be free to speak by the Spirit in psalm, instruction, revelation, tongue, and interpretation, that the saints may be edified, comforted, instructed, and exhorted, never confused, never afraid.

The word “church” is the Greek ekklesia, a compound of ek (out of) and kaleo (to call), so it means “the called out ones.” It is never an individual but a body, and it is built by Christ Himself upon the revelation that He is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16-18). Our gathering is for edification. Paul writes, “Let all things be done unto edifying” (1 Corinthians 14:26). It is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), and no believer can fulfil God’s plan apart from one.

The early disciples “continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42), and we do the same. The loudest and primary meeting in the church is a teaching meeting where the word of God is explained in clarity, for believers are mathetes, students, whose minds are engaged in learning. The church is the house where the pastoring teacher brings the saints to “the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God” (Ephesians 4:13). What is taught is not motivation; it is Christ.

Paul writes, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). To confess is to acknowledge, to say of Jesus what God Himself says of Him; it is not begging God for what He has already given. We acknowledge that He died for our sins, that He rose again, that in Him we have forgiveness, righteousness, the indwelling Spirit, and access with boldness, and our speech aligns with what the Scriptures say is already ours in Him.

The Christian life is a worthy walk that honours our gathering and our God. Paul charges the believer, “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1). Practically that means punctuality (at least fifteen minutes early), attendance without cherry-picking meetings, devotion in spirit, soul, and body during service, and giving “not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Our gathering is sacred, and how we treat it determines whether we go home built up or unmoved.

We believe Christ Himself is our pattern in conduct. Paul writes, “Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27), and Peter says, “as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:15). The believer is called to walk in honesty, integrity, purity, sober-mindedness, and the fear of the Lord. He does not lie, defraud, or live for himself; he conducts himself worthy of the gospel that saved him, knowing the eyes of unbelievers are on him. Right Christian living is the outflow of the new creature in Christ, in love and in the power of the Holy Ghost.

Prayer is the work of the saints. The early church “continued stedfastly… in prayers” (Acts 2:42), and when they were threatened they “lifted up their voice to God with one accord” (Acts 4:24). In the church there is no special prayer department for a few prayer warriors; the whole congregation is meant to pray. Paul charges us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to pray “with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:18). We pray as men who already have access with boldness through faith in Him (Ephesians 3:12), not as those begging for what He has not given. Prayer is not extra at TLLC. It is the work.

We believe giving is an act of honour and a mark of the Spirit-led life. Paul writes, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We give from the love we have received, not to be loved; we give to the work of the gospel, to the church that teaches us, to the poor and the saints in need (Galatians 6:6, Romans 12:13). Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35), and the believer is therefore an open-handed person, a generous person, because the One who lives in him is generous.

Jesus charged His disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15), and by extension that command rests on every believer. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and the man who believes it is saved. Evangelism deals with eternity; it cannot wait. We preach prayerfully, depending not on our words but on the power of God to save.

Paul charges us to “walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). Walking in the Spirit is walking in love, the fruit of “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23). We forgive as we have been forgiven, “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32), because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5).

To honour is to revere, to respect, to regard, to treat as sacred and uncommon; to dishonour is to treat as common what God has cleansed. Peter learned this when the voice from heaven said, “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:15). The believer is instructed to honour the Lord first, then parents (Ephesians 6:2), governing authorities (Romans 13:7), spiritual leaders (1 Timothy 5:17), husbands and wives (1 Peter 3:7), and one another in brotherly love (Romans 12:10). “Honour all men” (1 Peter 2:17); the honour culture of the saints is not optional.