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- (Exodus) Exodus 20:8 17
(Exodus) Exodus 20:8-17
J. Vernon McGee

John Vernon McGee (1904 - 1988). American Presbyterian pastor, radio teacher, and author born in Hillsboro, Texas. Converted at 14, he earned a bachelor’s from Southwestern University, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a D.D. from Columbia Seminary. Ordained in 1933, he pastored in Georgia, Tennessee, and California, notably at Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles from 1949 to 1970, growing it to 3,000 members. In 1967, he launched Thru the Bible, a radio program teaching the entire Bible verse-by-verse over five years, now airing in 100 languages across 160 countries. McGee authored over 200 books, including Genesis to Revelation commentaries. Known for his folksy, Southern style, he reached millions with dispensationalist teachings. Married to Ruth Inez Jordan in 1936, they had one daughter. Despite throat cancer limiting his later years, he recorded thousands of broadcasts. His program and writings continue to shape evangelical Bible study globally.
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Sermon Summary
In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the fourth commandment, which is to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. He explains that the Sabbath was given to the nation of Israel as a covenant token between God and His people. The preacher also mentions that the specific day of the week is not important, as the change of calendars makes it difficult to determine the exact day. He emphasizes that as Christians, they observe the first day of the week, Sunday, because it is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The preacher briefly mentions the other commandments, such as honoring parents, not committing adultery, not stealing, and not killing, emphasizing that these commandments are still relevant and should be followed.
Sermon Transcription
And then, the fourth, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that's within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is. And he rested the seventh day, wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Now, we're going to see in this book of Exodus that the Sabbath day was given to the nation Israel in a very unusual way. God says that it is a covenant token between me and the children of Israel. Now, the day I don't think is important. After all, the change of calendars makes it impossible for us to know whether the seventh day is today our Saturday or not. I think it's not, but that is beside the point because as far as we're concerned makes no difference what day you observe. Now, we observe what we believe is the first day of the week, and it may or may not be, but we recognize it as the first day of the week and because our Lord came back from the dead on that day. And that's the reason we observe it. We'll see all of this later on in this book of Exodus. Then we come now to man's relationship with man. It begins in the home. Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long from the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. And a father and mother should be worthy by the way of that honor. And we'll come to all of these again. And the sixth commandment, thou shall not kill. This is being used by quite a few today. I've had any number of young men that have come in and talked to me about it. They said, well, you shouldn't kill, therefore you shouldn't be a soldier. May I say to you that thou shall not kill was not given to a nation. It was given to an individual. The individual shall not kill as an individual. They have no right to do that. And a nation is given an authority today to protect human life by taking human life when one murders or does that sort of thing. Therefore, today one is serving his country. This hasn't anything in the world to do with soldier service or the execution of a criminal at all. Thou shall not kill. Our Lord said that it comes from anger and we're not to be even angry with our brother. And thou shall not commit adultery. And we're living right now in this sex revolution it's called. It's not a revolution. It's something that's been coming down through the ages. Sex is certainly not new, but it's still adultery. When this is committed outside of wedlock, God makes that very clear. And you may think you've changed it. You haven't changed it, friends, at all. This still stands. And then thou shall not steal. And my point is that you ought to be permitted, if you can commit adultery today, then you ought to be permitted to steal. And if you're permitted to steal, you ought to be permitted to kill, by the way, even personally. May I say this is a package that goes together. The ninth commandment, thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. That has to do with lying. Then the tenth, thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, ass, or anything that's thy neighbor's. Now, these are the ten commandments. And covetousness, remember Paul said that idolatry is covetousness. And that's one of the great sins of the present hour. Now, these things God condemns. We'll have occasion to look at all of them in a different way later on. But that brings us to the end of the ten commandments. Now, in this chapter, we're going to see instructions concerning an altar, because you need an altar to go with the ten commandments. You need a Savior, friends, today. The law reveals we've come short of the glory of God.
(Exodus) Exodus 20:8-17
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John Vernon McGee (1904 - 1988). American Presbyterian pastor, radio teacher, and author born in Hillsboro, Texas. Converted at 14, he earned a bachelor’s from Southwestern University, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a D.D. from Columbia Seminary. Ordained in 1933, he pastored in Georgia, Tennessee, and California, notably at Church of the Open Door in Los Angeles from 1949 to 1970, growing it to 3,000 members. In 1967, he launched Thru the Bible, a radio program teaching the entire Bible verse-by-verse over five years, now airing in 100 languages across 160 countries. McGee authored over 200 books, including Genesis to Revelation commentaries. Known for his folksy, Southern style, he reached millions with dispensationalist teachings. Married to Ruth Inez Jordan in 1936, they had one daughter. Despite throat cancer limiting his later years, he recorded thousands of broadcasts. His program and writings continue to shape evangelical Bible study globally.