"Go Ye Into All The World, And Preach The Gospel"

On May 30, 1791 a small group of Baptist preachers and church leaders got together in Friar Lane Chapel at Nottingham, England. Though they were few in number, all of these men firmly believed the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. Some of them had become very concerned about their responsibility to carry the gospel to heathen around the world.

The preacher for the hour was a young village pastor, only thirty years old, William Carey. The message God gave him gripped the hearts of his fellow pastors. His subject was the necessity of gospel missions,the necessity of preaching the gospel to the heathen around the world. His text was Isaiah 54:2-3, "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left;and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles,and make the deso late cities to be inhabited." One year later, Carey was on his way to India,the first missionary of the first foreign missionary effort since the apostolic era.

All modern missionary societies trace their origins back to that Wednesday morning in Nottingham and to William Carey. But very few practice missionary work or preach the message that Carey did. William Carey believed and preached the gospel of God's free, electing love, effectual, particular redemption, and infallible, irresistible grace. He was a Particular Baptist, the denomination of John Gill, John Brine, John Ryland and Andrew Fuller! Most missionaries today who are found preaching Carey's message are immediately dismissed from their mission board.

His method of missionary work was preaching. He did not build hospitals, teach the nationals how to farm, build schools, or establish a "cultural link" between himself and the people to whom he was sent to minister. He preached and God blessed his preaching to the salvation of sinners.

In that powerful sermon that launched the modern missionary movement, Carey made these two statements: (1) "Expect great things from God," and (2) "Attempt great things for God." Now, 200 years later, I pray that those two challenging words of exhortation will inspire each of us in the work of preaching the gospel.

Don Fortner