Our Beliefs

For the sake of unity within our club families, all CONTEND members must agree with the following historic statements of faith as well as the CONTEND Statement of Faith

I believe in God the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceedeth from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.     Amen.

The Nicene Creed originated at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. and this expanded form was adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.

1) There is one God eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16, Matthew 28:16, John 10:30, 2 Corinthians 13:14) 

2) Man is sinful and therefore separated from God, who is holy and perfect. (Isaiah 53:5-9, Romans 3:23, I Peter 1:15-16)

3) Jesus Christ paid the eternal penalties for our sin through His death on the cross. (Luke 24:46, I Peter 1:15-16)

4) Only through Jesus Christ and the grace of His provision of salvation, may we be saved from eternal punishment, enter into God's family and receive eternal life. (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:11, I John 1:9) 

5) We affirm what the Bible teaches regarding salvation as highlighted by the Protestant Reformation: that we are justified by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, taught by the authority of Scripture alone, all to the glory of God alone. 

6) Jesus Christ resurrected bodily and ascended into heaven and will return one day to fulfill His kingdom. (Matthew 28:6, Revelation 19:11)

7) We believe in the Scripture of the Old and New Testament (66 books) as being verbally and completely inerrant in the original writings and of supreme and final authority in faith and in life. We teach the Bible affirms of itself, that it is the inerrant Word of God.

8) We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

9) We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that marriage between one man and one woman, for life, uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church (Eph. 5:21-33). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

10) We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, cohabitation, homosexual behavior, or use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).

11) We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Ps. 139.)

12)  Regarding creation: We teach apologetics from a young earth perspective in agreement with the words of Scripture and taught by the Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 15: What is the work of creation? The work of creation is that wherein God did in the beginning, by the word of His power, make of nothing the world, and all things therein, for Himself, within the space of six days, and all very good.