- Home
- Speakers
- G.D. Watson
- Alone With God
G.D. Watson
George Douglas Watson (1845–1924). Born on March 26, 1845, in Accomac County, Virginia, G.D. Watson was a Methodist holiness preacher, evangelist, and prolific author who became a leading voice in the late 19th-century holiness movement. Raised in a devout Methodist family with godly influences like family prayer and Sunday school, he felt convictions at age five or six, singing “Rock of Ages” with siblings, and sensed a call to preach by 12 or 13. Despite early rebellion, described as the “black sheep” among six siblings, he sought religion during revivals and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Ordained in 1868, he pastored in Kentucky but struggled spiritually until 1876, when he sought sanctification, achieving it after a Cincinnati evangelists’ conference, transforming his ministry with a focus on holiness. Watson’s evangelistic campaigns spanned the United States, England, the West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Korea, preaching a deeper Christian life. He authored over 18 books, including Soul Food, Our Own God, Bone of His Bone, and The Heavenly Life, emphasizing sanctification, the Holy Spirit, and victory over sin, many still in print via publishers like Kingsley Press. Married to Eva, who wrote his biography, Glimpses of the Life and Work of G.D. Watson, he faced personal trials, including his wife’s illness and his lapse into tobacco use during a period of spiritual backsliding. Watson died in 1924, leaving a legacy as an “Apostle to the Sanctified.” He said, “The Holy Spirit never comes to us to make us smart, but to make us holy.”
Download
Topic
Sermon Summary
G.D. Watson emphasizes the importance of being alone with God in finding personal salvation, highlighting the need for a personal encounter with Jesus where He speaks directly to our hearts. Human words are inadequate in such a crucial moment of detachment from others and connection with God. Only through the Holy Spirit re-speaking God's promises into our consciousness can we truly grasp the assurance of salvation and holiness that God offers. Each soul must seek God alone for a genuine assurance of His perfect salvation, beyond the influence of others or mere words on paper.
Scriptures
Alone With God
We have to be alone with God in finding personal salvation. Others may be used as instruments in bringing conviction, light, help in various ways; but there comes a crisis, both in the work of regeneration and of sanctification, in which the soul must be detached from others, and deal only with God. How utterly impertinent are human words in such a crisis! We must meet our Jesus singly; we must apprehend Him for ourselves; He must speak to us with His own voice. In such an hour we gaze on the salvation promises, such as, "Thy sins will be forgiven thee," or, "I will, be thou clean"; but the words on paper need to be imparted into our consciousness, and to do this, they must be re-spoken into us by the Holy Ghost. No true soul will be satisfied with an inference of salvation, or a dead legal imputation of holiness, or the opinions of others as to our state; nothing less than God alone pouring His assurance into our spirits will answer. The dear Redeemer Who loved us from eternity, and "formed us for Himself," will not leave the pining soul to the second-hand tinkering of others; He will closet us with Himself, and re-speak into us those living words out of His Book that have been spoken to seeking souls in every generation of the world. God longs to give each of us a perfect personal assurance of His perfect salvation. But we must be alone with God
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download
George Douglas Watson (1845–1924). Born on March 26, 1845, in Accomac County, Virginia, G.D. Watson was a Methodist holiness preacher, evangelist, and prolific author who became a leading voice in the late 19th-century holiness movement. Raised in a devout Methodist family with godly influences like family prayer and Sunday school, he felt convictions at age five or six, singing “Rock of Ages” with siblings, and sensed a call to preach by 12 or 13. Despite early rebellion, described as the “black sheep” among six siblings, he sought religion during revivals and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Ordained in 1868, he pastored in Kentucky but struggled spiritually until 1876, when he sought sanctification, achieving it after a Cincinnati evangelists’ conference, transforming his ministry with a focus on holiness. Watson’s evangelistic campaigns spanned the United States, England, the West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Korea, preaching a deeper Christian life. He authored over 18 books, including Soul Food, Our Own God, Bone of His Bone, and The Heavenly Life, emphasizing sanctification, the Holy Spirit, and victory over sin, many still in print via publishers like Kingsley Press. Married to Eva, who wrote his biography, Glimpses of the Life and Work of G.D. Watson, he faced personal trials, including his wife’s illness and his lapse into tobacco use during a period of spiritual backsliding. Watson died in 1924, leaving a legacy as an “Apostle to the Sanctified.” He said, “The Holy Spirit never comes to us to make us smart, but to make us holy.”