Carey, Marshman and Ward preface the 'Form of Agreement' with a carefully-worded justification of their being in India at all. There is a reason for this. The Baptist Church in England at the time held a hyper-Calvinist position regarding the salvation of sinners. Forever lodged in Carey's memory was the occasion where he made known his missionary yearning at a ministers' meeting in 1786; an older pastor allegedly stood up and said: "Young man, sit down! when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine."
So Carey chooses his phrases carefully: 'We are sure that only those who are ordained to eternal life will believe, and that God alone can add to the church such as shall be saved.' Carey and several colleagues back home had challenged the prevailing determinism; he himself had preached a sermon on the necessity of missions, in which he included the memorable exhortation: Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God. Yet he was wise enough to realise that, were they to antagonise the Baptist hierarchy in England, they could easily cut off the supply of recruits and donations on which they relied.
Carey then brings the balance. 'Nevertheless, we cannot but observe with admiration that (the Apostle) Paul... was the most conspicuous for his personal zeal in the work of persuading men to be reconciled to God. In this respect he is a noble example for our imitation.' Touché? I think so!
And so to the first article of the covenant itself, which concerns urgency for lost souls. A paper that reached me only today claims that globally, 98% of Christians are neither envisioned nor equipped for mission in 95% of their waking lives. If that really is the case, then let us hear the heart expressed by Carey and his friends.
It is absolutely necessary that we set an infinite value upon immortal souls.[We should] endeavour to affect our minds with the dreadful loss sustained by an unconverted soul launched into eternity. May their case lie with continued weight on our minds.
India is a vast country, lying in the arms of the wicked one. This is no colonial pride, for Carey is just as scathing about his own roots: 'He who raised the sottish and brutalised Britons to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, can raise these slaves of superstition... and make them worshippers of the one true God in spirit and truth'. Indeed, in faith Carey anticipates a day when He will famish the gods of India and cause these very idolators to cast their idols to the moles and the bats.'
This blog post considers reasons why the "heart for the lost" has been largely lost in Christendom today and challenges us, very practically, to do something about it. No doubt, Carey and his covenant team would long for us to do so!
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