For more on Handel, please read our article, "George Frideric Handel (Feb 23, 1685 - Apr 14, 1759)," by Andy Efting.The 99 Most Essential Handel Masterpieces (Amazon Exclusive)
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"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life."—Proverbs 4:23
The heart of man is his worst part before it is regenerated, and the best afterward; it is the seat of principles, and the fountain of actions. The eye of God is, and the eye of the Christian ought to be, principally fixed upon it.
The greatest difficulty in conversion, is to win the heart to God; and the greatest difficulty after conversion, is to keep the heart with God. Here lies the very force and stress of religion; here is that which makes the way to life a narrow way, and the gate of heaven a strait gate.
...though the expression, Keep thy heart, seems to put it upon us as our work, yet it does not imply a sufficiency in us to do it. We are as able to stop the sun in its course, or to make the rivers run backward, as by our own skill and power to rule and order our hearts. We may as well be our own saviors as our own keepers; and yet Solomon speaks properly enough when he says, Keep thy heart, because the duty is ours, though the power is of God; what power we have depends upon the exciting and assisting strength of Christ. Grace within us is beholden to grace without us. "Without me ye can do nothing" [Jn. 15:5].
(John Flavel, On Keeping the Heart. New York: American Tract Society, n.d., p. 5)
Hebrew + Greek Bible Giveaway
Does this describe you:
• You’ve learned the basic syntax of Bible languages
• You know some basic vocab
• But the less common words? No, you don’t know ketem from katalambano. A Bible that defines the uncommon words might be hepful...
If that’s you, you are in luck...
WE'RE GIVING AWAY FIVE OF A Reader's Hebrew and Greek Bible (See how to enter at bottom of this post)
We guard most closely what we most treasure.
Solomon, out of his painful experience, pleaded with his children,
Above all else, guard your heart,for it is the wellspring of life.(Proverbs 4:23)
What is it you most protect? Your reputation? Your investments? Your family? Of all you guard, says Solomon, guard nothing with the care and strength you guard your affections. Once your heart latches onto something, you will not be able to stop your will from consenting to it.
...Fix your affections on God himself, in his beauty and glory. Fix your heart on the Lord Christ, the fairest of ten thousand, the desired of the nations. Get worked up about the mystery of the gospel, all the wisdom and love of God displayed in Christ, and all the blessings he delivers to your soul. If you're going to revel in and relish something, be like Paul:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)
Let the sorrows of your Savior on the cross move you. Imagine his cries and groans in your behalf, till your heart breaks. Daydream about how much love he showed you as he hung naked in your place. And see if the baits and lures of the flesh don't grow ugly and repulsive. Will you give your hours to fantasizing about and dwelling on and longing for the vile things that nailed the Lover of your soul to the cursed tree?
(the one-volume edition), and Nave's Topical Bible
. I borrowed these from my dad when I left for my first year at college. Soon after arriving I was encouraged to purchase a Strong's Concordance
. These simple tools helped to open up the Scriptures for me, although I still had a long way to go.
(my favorite concordance), a Bible dictionary, and a Bible handbook. I showed him how to use the concordance to see where a word shows up in different passages. A light went off at this point, and he said, "So that's how they found those other verses we read." I was amazed at how much I take for granted in Bible study. Well, needless to say he was delighted to figure out how this works. I then showed him the Bible handbook and opened it to the entry for James. I showed him that it gives background information about the author and how to fit the date of the letter of James into the events recorded in Acts. He again was amazed to learn that all of the NT epistles can be fit somewhere into the history in Acts. One of the notes in the handbook mentioned that the letter of James is probably the earliest NT writing. That about blew him away! He (like many people I known) thought that the order we have the books in the Bible is the actual order in which they were written. I wish we had more time, but I think that that was enough for him at one time. I think that he'll be better prepared for our next study. Lord willing, I will, too.
Selected Quote from "The Deaconship," by the Rev. James B. Ramsay (p. 15):
"But, it may be asked, of what use are deacons to take care of the poor in churches where there are no poor, or but two or three ? That, indeed, is a sadly defective state of the church where there are no poor; there must be something very deficient in its zeal and aggressiveness, if amidst the multitudes of poor around us, and mingling with us, there are none in the church itself. When we remember that Christ in his message, sent to John the Baptist, declares it to be a proof of his Divine mission, worthy to stand at the close of the brief summary of his most striking miracles, as of equal or even greater convincing power; and that the adaptedness of the Gospel to come down to the most despised and degraded of our wretched race—to seize and elevate the vast masses of humanity from their down-trodden condition—is one of its most distinguishing characteristics, and one of the most striking proofs of its Divine origin—Is it not evident that any church that fails to gather in the poor, fails in accomplishing one great design of the Gospel, and in presenting to the world one of the most convincing proofs of the truth and power of Christianity ?" [emphasis added]
AUTHOR - English-born George Campbell Morgan (1863-1945), a contemporary of Rodney “Gipsy” Smith, preached his first sermon at age 13. He was the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London from 1904-1919 and then from 1933-1943, pausing for a brief period between those timeframes to work at Biola in Los Angeles. In 1939, he began to mentor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who would eventually become his successor. Morgan’s essay entitled The Purposes of the Incarnation are included in a collection called The Fundamentals, a set of 90 essays that is widely considered to be the foundation of the modern Fundamentalist movement.
DESCRIPTION - A collection rich in biblical analysis and wisdom, the G. Campbell Morgan Collection (30 Vols.) is an excellent compilation of resources for anyone wishing to obtain a more expansive knowledge of the Bible. One of England’s most well-known and well-respected clergymen of the turn of the 20th century, G. Campbell Morgan has much wisdom to offer us all, including The Analysed Bible (10 Vols.), his much loved critical study of the Scriptures. It, along with studies on the parables of the New Testament, a guide to the study of the Bible, and volumes on the subjects of prayer, evangelism, and Christian living are included in this set which will benefit pastors, theologians, and teachers alike. Morgan’s lifetime of wisdom and biblical studies make up almost 6,000 pages of valuable insight that will keep you coming back for more.
Morgan, long-time pastor of Westminster Chapel in London and mentor of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, made it his aim to share his wealth of knowledge and years of scholarly research as simply as possible, in order to make his works accessible to all. His words have inspired and encouraged thousands in the past century, and will continue to provide excellent, biblically-based hope to all who read his works.
Logos Bible Software provides fast and reliable search results instantaneously, making the G. Campbell Morgan Collection (30 Vols.) a highly advantageous set of biblical study tools in electronic format. Morgan's writings will be a valuable asset to your Logos Bible Software library and will assist you greatly expanding in your knowledge of the Bible, of how to approach biblical studies, and of how to live a Christ-centered life.
TITLES -
- The Analysed Bible (10 vols.)
- Discipleship
- The True Estimate of Life and How to Live
- God’s Methods With Man
- Wherein Have We Robbed God? Malachi’s Message for the Men of Today
- Life’s Problems
- The Study and Teaching of the English Bible
- A First Century Message to Twentieth Century Christians
- Evangelism
- The Life of the Christian
- The Christ of Today: What? Whence? Whither?
- The Hidden Years at Nazareth
- The Missionary Manifesto
- The Teaching of Christ
- The Spirit of God
- The Ten Commandments
- The Parables of the Kingdom
- The Ministry of the Word
- The Practice of Prayer
- Living Messages of the Books of the Bible (2 vols.)
Charles Spurgeon Collection (86 Vols.)
The Life and Works of Horatius Bonar (137 Vols.) 
The Works of Robert Murray McCheyne (3 Vols.) 
The Works of John Knox (6 Vols.)
The Works of Jonathan Edwards (2 Vols.) 
The Works of John Owen (24 Vols.) 
Reformed Dogmatics, by Herman Bavinck (4 Vols.) 
Calvin 500 Collection (108 Vols.)
(Foreword by I. Howard Marshall) by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Michael Kruger (Crossway, 2010)."In the beginning was Diversity. And the Diversity was with God, and the Diversity was God. Without Diversity was nothing made that was made. And it came to pass that nasty old 'orthodox' people narrowed down diversity and finally squeezed it out, dismissing it as heresy. But in the fullness of time (which is of course our time), Diversity rose up and smote orthodoxy hip and thigh. Now, praise be, the only heresy is orthodoxy. As widely and as unthinkingly accepted as this reconstruction is, it is historical nonsense: the emperor has no clothes. I am grateful to Andreas Köstenberger and Michael Kruger for patiently, carefully, and politely exposing this shameful nakedness for what it is."
—D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
 | June, 2010 Contents
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Andy Naselli on Why “Let Go and Let God” Is a Bad Idea
Andy Naselli is a smart dude. He has two Ph.D’s and currently serves as D.A. Carson’s research assistant. His first Ph.D. was on the Keswick theology of sanctification. His dissertation is now available through Logos. I commend it to you. Here’s the blurb I wrote.
As a pastor, I don’t get asked to read many dissertations. I can’t say I was pining for more. I have enough to read without having to slog through a bazillion footnotes on the role of dyslexic cobblers on the development of pre-industrial French mercantilism. But alas, my suspicions of nascent scholarship were born of ignorance. At least Andy Naselli proved them wrong in a big way on this occasion. Andy’s work on Keswick theology is first-rate. I knew it would be. But I didn’t know it would be so interesting . . . and edifying . . . and applicable . . . and easy to read. This is a model of scholarship serving the church. I’ve already incorporated his analysis of Keswick’s history and his tight theological work on sanctification into my preaching. I enjoyed this book. I learned from this book. I was able to help my congregation by reading this book. I couldn’t ask for more from a few hundred pages and a few thousand footnotes.Many evangelicals may only be vaguely familiar with traditional Keswick theology. So I asked Andy a few questions about it. He’s condensed several years of research and several hundreds of pages of writing into 1000 words, so I encourage you to take five minutes and benefit from Andy’s expertise. (Read the interview here.)
Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology by Andrew David Naselli
That’s the title of my first solo book.
Logos Bible Software is the publisher, and the book is now available at a discounted price via Logos pre-pub. You can lock in your order now at a lower price and automatically download the book once Logos releases it (hopefully by the end of this year).
You can read the book’s front matter in this 31-page PDF, which includes twenty-one endorsements, the table of contents, Tom Schreiner’s foreword, and my preface.
From the preface:
This book’s thesis is simple: Keswick theology is not biblically sound. It demonstrates this by answering three basic questions:
- Where did Keswick theology come from (chap. 2)?
- What exactly is it (chap. 3)?
- And why is this second-blessing theology not a blessing (chap. 4)?
If you’ve encountered some aspect of second-blessing theology, you’ll be fascinated to see how it fits in the story in chapters 2–3. And you’ll be challenged to consider its serious flaws in chapter 4. My goal is not to make you an arrogant know-it-all who pugnaciously goes on a second-blessing witch-hunt. My goal is to edify you by warning and equipping you. I’ll consider this book a success if it helps you understand second-blessing theology better, see why it’s not a blessing at all, and follow a better—more biblical—way in your Christian walk.
Related:
Keswick Theology (March 24, 2008)
Interview on Keswick Theology
This book packs an extraordinary amount of useful summary, critical analysis, and pastoral reflection into short compass. One does not have to agree with every opinion to recognize that this is a comprehensive and penetrating analysis of Keswick theology down to 1920. The book will do the most good, however, if it encourages readers in a more faithful way to pursue that holiness without which we will not see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
—D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
For years popular Christian teachers have been telling us the secret key to the victorious, higher, deeper, more abundant Christian life. We’ve been told just to “let go and let God.” If you’ve heard that teaching, you’ll want to read this book—the definitive history and critique of second-blessing theology. You’ll learn not only where this theology went wrong, but will also discover afresh the well-worn old paths of biblical faithfulness and holiness. Andy Naselli is an extraordinarily careful scholar who leaves no stone unturned, but also a compassionate guide who longs to help and serve the church of Jesus Christ. Readers of this work will be instructed and encouraged in their Christian walk.
—Justin Taylor, Vice-President of Editorial; Managing Editor at Crossway Publishing
Forty years ago, as a brand new Christian, I devoured Keswick theology, which had great appeal to me as a vibrant and dynamic faith. I wrote “Let go and let God” inside my Bible. But the more I studied Scripture and looked at my own life, the more I saw that much of this theology didn’t ring true. As a former insider, I found Andy Naselli’s critique to be fair, accurate, theologically sound, and biblically persuasive. Andy’s book offers the bonus of serving as an insightful study of the doctrine of sanctification. I highly recommend it.
—Randy Alcorn, Founder and Director of Eternal Perspective Ministries
Andy Naselli’s thorough description and careful analysis of Keswick theology makes a major contribution to contemporary evangelical theology and to the Christian doctrine of sanctification, more broadly. Like many others, I was early influenced by Keswick theology through books and teachers in the Keswick tradition. While I came to appreciate their stress on Christ’s ability, by His Spirit, to enable faithful Christian living, their “let go, let God” methodology is both unbiblical and deeply misleading as a means of sanctification. I wish that Naselli’s excellent study had been available when I struggled with these issues. And so now, I gladly commend this book to all sincere Christians who can both learn from the excesses of the Keswick model while also coming to see more clearly and rightly the Bible’s pathway of progressive growth in sanctification.
—Bruce A. Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Holiness movements are part and parcel of the church in every age. In their emphasis on the need for Christianity to make a difference, they represent an important biblical emphasis; but in their detachment from a biblical anthropology, they often tend inevitably towards legalism, lack of assurance, and, worst of all, self-righteousness. In this work, Andy Naselli subjects one of the most influential of modern holiness movements to vigorous, but fair-minded, analysis. In so doing, he makes an important contribution not just to church history but also for all those who seek to address the relevant issues in an informed and thoughtful manner.
—Carl Trueman, Academic Dean, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and Professor of Historical Theology and Church History, Westminster Theological Seminary
Understanding what the Bible teaches about sanctification is extremely important, but the abundance of paradigms and systems makes that task more complex than it might seem at first. If we grew up in the church, we carry assumptions inherited from our youth that shape our perspective on both life and the biblical texts. The songs we’ve sung, the verses we’ve heard quoted in testimonies and sermons, and the path of our own Christian growth have all shaped the way we think and talk about the Christian life. The assumptions about sanctification on which many evangelicals and fundamentalists stand are most often inherited from Keswick teachings.
That’s why I believe this book by Andy Naselli is so important. It provides very valuable help in understanding the nature and impact of Keswick teaching. This is an evenhanded critique that does a wonderful job of putting together a thorough explanation of both the various strands and unifying features of Keswick teaching. Naselli doesn’t go after straw men. He demonstrates that he has heard and understood before he critiques.
Theology shapes ministry, so any book that helps me, as a pastor, to think more clearly is a great blessing from God. That’s the kind of book this is. Take up and read!
—David M. Doran, Senior Pastor, President, and Professor of Pastoral Theology, InterCity Baptist Church and Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, Allen Park, Michigan
Critiquing Keswick theology requires charitable prudence. On the one hand, it would be painful, perhaps even presumptuous to appear to critique many of the beloved figures in Church history who have testified so fervently to its blessed alteration of their lives and service. On the other hand, even the most cherished beliefs must be scrutinized objectively. Those found to be imbalanced or erroneous should be exposed scripturally.
Andy Naselli avoids unnecessarily demeaning Keswick’s followers. But he lays bare the mistaken emphases that have resulted in the delusion and despair of many frustrated Christians. His work is factual, fair, and liberating from the well-intentioned but futile pursuit of a crisis-sanctification.
—Mark Minnick, Senior Pastor and Professor of New Testament, Mount Calvary Baptist Church and Bob Jones University, Greenville, South Carolina
Dr. Naselli’s work Let Go and Let God provides a fascinating account and perceptive critique of early Keswick—a movement that has had widespread influence on conservative Christianity. The potentially deleterious impact of these ideas is more clearly seen in the historical and theological context that Naselli describes, especially the heterodox strains of some early leaders such as Palmer and Finney. Not just an historical tool, but a valuable insight for those who shepherd God’s people, this book will prove a useful resource for both pastor and theologian.
—Rodney J. Decker, Professor of New Testament, Baptist Bible Seminary, Clark Summit, Pennsylvania. NTresources.com
The godly man is a diligent man, but he is also a man profoundly conscious that even his energy and diligence (let alone his gifts) are directly traceable to the grace of God at work in him. That was Paul’s self-analysis in 1 Corinthians 15:10. For as long as I have known him, Andy Naselli has exemplified the reality of that passage, particularly in his research and writing ethic. His treatment of Keswick theology is some of the fruit of God’s laboring grace in him.
The Christian’s secret to a happy life is learning to interpret his experience through the lens of revelation (consistently contextualized), rather than interpreting Scripture through the lens of personal experience. Throughout the history of the church, this struggle with perspective has manifested itself in both doctrinal and devotional arenas, and on the personal as well as the ecclesiastical level. One area that has both doctrinal and devotional, ecclesiastical and personal, ramifications is the issue of sanctification. A biblically conditioned perspective on this subject has far-reaching implications for all believers individually, for the local assemblies of which they are a part, for the church of Christ in the earth and, consequently, for the glory of God. Andy Naselli’s excellent analysis of Keswick theology in the area of sanctification is a perspective-correcting contribution that is at once charitable and candid, fair and insightful, thorough and concise, accessible and theologically precise. It was a privilege to serve on the doctoral committee overseeing its original production as a dissertation, and a privilege now to commend it warmly to a wider audience.
—Layton Talbert, Professor of Theology and Exposition, Bob Jones University and Seminary
Greenville, South Carolina
