A Community That Cares

Tennessee Temple University is committed to helping our students become the individuals God intended them to become.

Your Community For Life

At TTU, college is about community, which is formed through fellowship, encouragement, accountability, and service. Whether you're supporting Crusader athletics or attending weekly chapel and small group meetings, participating in campus activities or an active member of organizations and service groups, you'll find your place in the TTU family. With life impacting relationships that will continue long after your college experience, you'll always be a welcome part of our family.

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Statement of Faith

1. We believe in the verbal inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. We believe that the Bible reveals God, the fall of man, the way of salvation, and God’s plan and purpose in the ages.
2. We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the deity, virgin birth, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
4. We believe that salvation is by grace plus nothing and minus nothing. The conditions to salvation are repentance and faith.
5. We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Justification establishes an eternal relationship that can never be broken.
6. We believe in the visible, personal, and premillennial return of Jesus Christ.
7. We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

Exposition

1. The Holy Scriptures
   We believe in the verbal inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. We believe that the Bible reveals God, the fall of man, the way of salvation, and God’s plan and purpose in the ages.
   
   a. Inspiration and Revelation
   
   We affirm that the Holy Scriptures (the Old and the New Testaments) in all its parts (all sixty-six books) down to every word of the autographic text of the original documents was given by divine inspiration (Acts 1:16; Hebrews 10:15–17; 2 Timothy 3:16), in the sense that holy men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of God (2 Peter 1:20–21). This inspiration was plenary—inspired equally in all parts (1 Corinthians 2:7–14; 2 Peter 1:21), verbal—inspired in every word, and God-breathed—the very words of God (2 Timothy 3:16). The written Word of God, therefore, in its entirety is revelation of God, complete in its internal harmony and unity (1 Corinthians 14:37; John 10:35).
   
   We deny natural inspiration, partial inspiration, thought and not words inspiration, the theory that the Bible just contains the Word of God, and also the view that the Bible only becomes the Word of God if and when God uses it as an instrument of spiritual encounter with an individual.
   
   b. Infallibility, Inerrancy, and Authority
   
   We affirm that the Scripture, having been given by divine inspiration, is infallible— true, safe, and reliable in all the matters it addresses (John 17:17; Psalm 19:7) and is inerrant—free from all error, falsehood, fraud, or deceit (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2). It is thus the supreme authority and norm for all matters of faith and practice (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; Deuteronomy 6:6–9; John 16:12–13).
   
   We deny that the Scripture receives its authority from the Church, tradition, or any other human source. It is the responsibility of every individual to ascertain the true intent and meaning of Scripture because proper application of the Scripture is binding on all generations. The truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of Scripture.
   
   c. Interpretation and Application
   
   We affirm the literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture. Whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, there is but one true interpretation which can be reached under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:7–15; 1 John 2:20).
   
   We deny the legitimacy of any treatment of the text or any quest for sources lying behind it that leads to relativising, dehistoricizing, or rejecting its claims to absolute, divine authority.
    
2. The Godhead
   
   We believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
   
   a. The Essence and the Attributes of God
   
   We affirm that there is but one true and living God (Deuteronomy 4: 35, 39; 6:4; Isaiah 45: 5–7; 1 Corinthians 8:4–6), infinite (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 113:4–6; Isaiah 66:1), self-existing (Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 41:4; Revelation 1:8), and eternal (Genesis 21:33; Psalm 90:2; Psalm 102:27) spirit (John 4:24) , perfect in all His attributes of omnipresence (Psalm 139:7–10; Jeremiah 23:23), omniscience (Isaiah 46:10; Proverbs 15:3; Psalm 147:5; Hebrews 4:13), omnipotence (Genesis 17:1; Job 42:2; Matthew 19:26), immutability (James 1:17; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 1:12), holiness (Leviticus 11:44; Joshua 24:19; Psalm 22:3; Isaiah 40:25), righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14; 2 Chronicles 12:6; Nehemiah 9:33; 2 Timothy 4:8), goodness (Matthew 5:45; Acts 14:17), and truth (John 17:3; 1 John 5:20; Jeremiah 10:10; Revelation 3:7), one in essence, eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)—each equally deserving worship and obedience.
   
   We deny tritheism, which denies the unity of the essence of God and teaches that there are three distinct Gods. We also deny Sabellianism, which holds to a trinity of revelation but not of nature and teaches a modal trinity as distinguished from an ontological trinity.
   
   b. The Unity of God
   
   There is but one God, whose divine nature is undivided and indivisible (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; Isaiah 45:5; Mark 12:29–32; 1 Corinthians 8:4–6).
   
   c. The Trinity of God
   
   We affirm that the Bible clearly teaches the Trinity. God used plural pronouns to refer to Himself (Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8). Several times the three persons of the Trinity are shown together and are on par with one another (Matthew 3:16, 17; John 14:16; Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 1:3–14). The Father is recognized as God (John 6:27; Romans 1:7). The Son is recognized as God (John 1:3; Isaiah 7:14; John 1:14; Revelation 21:3). the Holy Spirit is recognized as God (Acts 5:3; 2 Corinthians 3:17).
   
   1. God the Father
   
   We affirm that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Psalms: 145:8–19; 1 Corinthians 8:6). He is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1–31; Ephesians 3:9). He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption (Psalms 103:9; Romans 11:36.) As Creator He is the Father of all (Ephesians 4:6), but He is the Spiritual Father only of believers (Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18). He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (1 Chronicles 29:11; Romans 11:36). He saves from sin all who come to Him by faith in Christ; and He becomes Father to believers (John 1:12; Romans 8:14; Hebrews 12:5–9; 2 Corinthians 6:18).
   
   2. God the Son
   
   We affirm that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine attributes, and is co-equal, co-substantial, and co-eternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9). God the Father created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things continue in existence and in operation (John 1:3; Colossians 1:15–17; Hebrews 1:2).
   
   3. God the Holy Spirit
   
   We affirm that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, has all the characteristics of personality, including intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10–13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11), and possesses the essence and all the attributes of deity, including eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresence (Psalms 139:7–10), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13). He is co-equal and co-substantial with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3–4; 1 Corinthians 12:4–6). The Holy Spirit executes the divine will. He was sovereignly active in creation (Genesis 1:2), in the incarnation (Matthew 1:18), in the inspiration of the Scripture (2 Peter 1:20–21), and He is sovereignly active in salvation (John 3:5–7). The Holy Spirit baptizes and indwells all who believe in Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and sanctifies, instructs, and empowers them for service (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13). Every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation. It is the duty of all believers to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20). We affirm that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts to the church. He does not glorify Himself; He glorifies Christ (John 16:13–14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 2 Corinthians 3:18). Speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were for the purpose of authenticating the apostles and never intended to be the characteristic of the lives of believers (1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 13:8–10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7–12).
   
   We deny the legitimacy of the modern charismatic movement because of its erroneous teachings and practices relating to the manifestations and work of the Holy Spirit in the church and in the life of the believer.
   
   d. The Works of God
   
   1. Creation
   
   We affirm that the triune God created the entire space-time universe and every basic form of life in the six literal, historic days of the Genesis creation record (Genesis 1–11; Nehemiah 9:6; Colossians 1:16). We affirm the historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis, the special creation of Adam and Eve as the literal, male and female progenitors of all people (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:7), the literal fall and resultant divine curse on the creation (Genesis 3), the worldwide flood (Genesis 7, 8), and the origin of nations and languages at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9).
   
   2. His Sovereign Rule
   
   We affirm that God, as creator of all things visible and invisible, has an absolute right to rule over all (Matthew 20:15; Romans 9:20; Ephesians 1:11). God sovereignly maintains in existence all the things which He has made (Nehemiah 9:6; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). God also as the holy, benevolent, wise, and omnipotent being exercises sovereign control over His creation through His providence (Matthew 5:45; Psalms 147:18; Job 38:25; Job 12:10; Psalms 22:28; 139:16, Jeremiah 1:5; 1 Chronicles 29:11).
   
   We deny the concept of mediate creation, the gap theory, the restoration theory, the revelatory rather than the literal six day theory, and the theory of evolution, including theistic evolution.
   
   We deny theories opposed to the Scriptural teaching about God’s providential rule. Included in these theories are naturalism, fatalism, pantheism, and humanism.
    
3. Jesus Christ
   
   We believe in the deity, virgin birth, substitutionary atonement, and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.
   
   a. The Deity of Jesus Christ
   
   We affirm that the deity of Christ is crucial to the Christian faith (Matthew 16:15; 22:42). Jesus Christ possesses the attributes of deity (John 1:15; John 17:5, 24; Colossians 2:3; John 5:19; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 21:19; Hebrews 1:12; 13:8). Jesus Christ possesses the offices of deity (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:10). Jesus Christ possesses the prerogatives of deity (Matthew 9:2; John 5:25–29; Romans 14:10).
   
   We deny the doctrine of Ebionism, which teaches that Jesus was an ordinary man possessing unusual gifts, and Arianism (including the doctrine of the Jehovah’s Witnesses) which teaches that only God (the Father) is eternal and is not created and that all other existents are created beings.
   
   We affirm that Christ is eternally the Son of God (Psalm 2:7).
   
   We deny the incarnational Sonship theory.
   
   b. The humanity and virgin birth of Jesus Christ
   
   We affirm that Jesus, the second person of the trinity, was fully human as well (John 1:14; Galatians 4:4; Luke 2:52; Matthew 4:2; John 19:28; John 19:34) yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 9:14; 1 Peter 2:22). At the incarnation Jesus “took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6–8).
   
   We affirm that the doctrine of the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23) is essential to the incarnation and redemption (Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38). Without the virgin birth there would have been no union of God and man. The virgin birth was also indispensable to the sinlessness of Jesus (Psalm 51:5). The doctrine of the virgin birth is a reminder of the supernatural nature of our salvation (John 1:13; 3:5–6).
   
   We deny the teachings that Christ’s humanity was hidden as well as any departure from the understanding of Jesus as fully God and fully man.
   
   c. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ
   
   The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the fundamental doctrine of Christianity, an essential part in the application of salvation, and a conclusive exhibition of divine power. Everything stands or falls with Christ’s bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:12–19; Romans 4:24; 6:4; 10:9; Ephesians 1:20)
   
   We deny the teaching that Christ’s bodily resurrection is not essential for our justification. We also deny that Christ’s resurrection was only spiritual and not physical.
    
4. Salvation
   
   We believe that salvation is by grace plus nothing and minus nothing. The conditions to salvation are repentance and faith.
   
   a. The Fall and Depravity of Man
   
   We affirm that man was originally created in the image and after the likeness of God and that he fell through sin, and as a consequence of his sin became dead in trespasses and sins, thus becoming subjected to the power of the devil (Genesis 3:1–7). Spiritual death or total depravity of the human nature has been transmitted to the entire human race, the Man Christ Jesus alone being excepted (1 Kings 8:46; Psalms 143:2; Romans 3:10, 12; 3:23; Job 14:4; 15:14; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:3). Depravity has made man inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of doing that which is acceptable to God apart from God’s grace. All men are thus sinners by nature, by choice and by Divine declaration (Psalms 14:1–3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9–18, 23; 5:10–12; Ephesians 2:3). Man is hopelessly lost (Romans 8:7; Ephesians 4:18; Romans 3:10, 12, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10; 1 Corinthians 2:14).
   
   We deny the teaching that man’s fall was partial, and not complete, including the view that man’s will is fallen but the intellect is not. We also deny the view that man can save himself through moral and ethical means.
   
   b. The Grace of God
   
   We affirm that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemptive work of Christ, the merit of His shed blood and not on the basis of human merit or works (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8–10; 1 Peter 1:18–19). The conditions to salvation are repentance and faith. Repentance is a change of mind and direction having three aspects; intellectual, emotional, and volitional (Romans 3:20; Job 42:5; Romans 1:32; 2 Corinthians 7:9; Luke 15:21; 1 John 1:9). Our whole salvation is dependent upon faith. We are saved, justified (Romans 5:1), and sanctified (Acts 26:18) by faith.
   
   We deny the view that water baptism, sacraments, church membership, or good works can lead to salvation.
    
5. Justification and Eternal Security
   
   We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Justification establishes an eternal relationship that can never be broken.
   
   In regeneration man receives a new life and a new nature; in justification, a new standing. Justification is that act of God whereby He declares righteous those who believe in Christ (Romans 5:12–21; 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:26; Hebrews 2:11, Titus 3:7; Galatians 2:16). A regenerated, justified soul is brought into a vital union with Christ (Ephesians 2:20–22; Colossians 2:7; John 14:20; 1 Corinthians 6:17). Union with Christ means eternal security (John 10:28–30; Romans 6:5; 8:38, 39).
   
   We deny the teaching that a regenerated, justified soul sealed by the Holy Spirit can lose his salvation.
    
6. The Return of Jesus Christ
   
   We believe in the visible, personal and premillennial return of Jesus Christ.
   
   We affirm the imminent, personal, visible, bodily, pretribulational, premillennial return of Jesus Christ into the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13) to rapture His church from the earth (John 14:1–3; 1 Corinthians 15:51–53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15–5:11), and to reward believers according to their works, between this event and His glorious return with His saints to the earth (1 Corinthians 3:11–15; 2 Corinthians 5:10). Immediately following the removal of the church from the earth (John 14:1–3;1 Thessalonians 4:13–18), the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon the unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Revelation 16), following which Christ will return in glory with His saints to the earth (Matthew 24:27–31; 2 Thessalonians 2:7–12) to occupy the throne of David (Acts 1:10–11; 2:29–30) and to establish His Messianic Kingdom for a thousand years (Revelations 20:1–7).
   
   We deny the validity of the so-called “prewrath” rapture theory, the partial rapture theory, the mid-tribulation rapture theory, the post-tribulation rapture theory, amillennialism, and postmillennialism.
    
7. Judgment of the Lost, Blessedness of the Saved, and Eternity
   
   We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.
   
   We affirm that following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9) and Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10) following which the unsaved dead will be resurrected for the Great White Throne judgment (Revelation 20:11–15; 21:8) and committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11–15). The saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, the elements of the earth are to be dissolved (2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:7–15; 2 Peter 3:10) and replaced with a new heaven and a new earth wherein only righteousness dwells (Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 20:15, 21–22). The heavenly city will be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will enjoy eternal fellowship with God and one another (John 17:3; Colossians 3:4; Revelation 21:22).
   
   We deny the teaching that the lake of fire is a state of mind or anything short of an actual, physical, literal place. We further deny that the unsaved are annihilated or their punishment is for a limited time.
    
8. Satan
   
   We affirm that Satan was originally created a perfect being. He rebelled against God. As a result, he became depraved, the adversary of God and His people, and the leader of a host of angels who fell with him. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross. He actively attempts to thwart the work and people of God. His ultimate destiny is eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Isaiah 14:13–14; Ezekiel 28:13–17; John 16:11; I Timothy 3:7; Revelation 20:10). We deny that Satan is omnipotent, omnipresent, or omniscient.