CGOM-UK: COG Beliefs Are In The Bible

In his Jan-Feb 2008 newsletter, CGOM-UK’s James McBride wrote:

I still believe the basics of what I was taught because I have since put it to more intense scrutiny.

Sound Bible teaching has largely fallen by the wayside. But tell me, from the Christian Scriptures, if you can dispute the following teachings. (My Methodist Sunday-school teachers certainly didn’t, for most points, convince me otherwise.)

…Jesus Christ died and was resurrected – for me
…Jesus will return to reign over all mankind for a thousand years or so
…the Christian ‘sabbath’ is not Sunday but the seventh day – Saturday
…Jesus did not ‘do away’ with his Father’s Law
…I won’t go to heaven when I die – nor will anyone else
… …[hades] is not a place of eternal torment but simply everyone’s final resting place
…the soul has no pre-existence nor does it survive death
…everyone will be resurrected at some time, for judgment
…the Christian Scriptures know no other divinely- sanctioned ‘holy days’ than those in Leviticus 23
…Jesus said he would build a church – and records show it existed since founded early in the first century, however now deviant from his teachings

I repeat – show me evidence that these beliefs are not Scriptural. They are the basics, though experience and study has somewhat modified my understanding.
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Comments by COGwriter

While I would have worded those a bit differently, the fact is that the COGs do rely more on the Bible than other groups that try to pass themselves off as Christian (for specific group, please see articles on various Christian-professing churches as the COGwriter home page).

Here are articles related to most of the topics he brought up:

Passover and the Early Church Did the early Christians observe Passover? What did Jesus and Paul teach? Why did Jesus have to die for you?
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism and a 6000 Year Plan? Was a 6,000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth (often called the millennium) taught by the early Christians? Is this time near?
Sunday and Christianity Was Sunday observed by the apostolic and true post-apostolic Christians? How clearly endorsed Sunday?
The Sabbath in the Early Church and Abroad Was the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath observed by the apostolic and post-apostolic Church?
What Did Jesus Teach About the Ten Commandments? This article quotes what Jesus actually said about them (His words are in red).
What Did Early Christians Understand About the Resurrection? Is there more than one future resurrection?
Universal Salvation? There Are Hundreds of Verses in the Bible Supporting the Doctrine of True Apocatastasis Do you believe what the Bible actually teaches on this? Will all good things be restored? Does God’s plan of salvation take rebellion and spiritual blindness into account? Is there eternal torment?
Did Early Christians Believe that Humans Possessed Immortality? What does John 3:16, and other writings, tell us?
Hope of Salvation: How the COGs differ from most Protestants How the COGs differ from mainstream Protestants, is perhaps the question I am asked most by those without a COG background.
Is There “An Annual Worship Calendar” In the Bible? This paper provides a biblical and historical critique of several articles, including one by WCG which states that this should be a local decision. What do the Holy Days mean? Also you can click here for the calendar of Holy Days .
Location of the Early Church: Another Look at Ephesus, Smyrna, and Rome What actually happened to the primitive Church? And did the Bible tell about this in advance?
Church of God Outreach Ministries This was a CGI spin-off who says it is not a church.
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church?