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An Enquiry Into the Obligations of Christians
As our blessed Lord has required us to pray that his kingdom may come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it becomes us not only to express our desires of that event by words, but to use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his name. In order to this, it is necessary that we should become, in some measure acquainted with the religious state of the world; and as this is an object we should be prompted to pursue, not only by the gospel of our Redeemer, but even by the feelings of humanity, so an inclination to conscientious activity therein would form one of the strongest proofs that we are the subjects of grace, and partakers of that spirit of universal benevolence and genuine philanthropy, which appear so eminent in the character of God himself. William Carey
AN ENQUIRY INTO THE OBLIGATIONS OF CHRISTIANS, TO USE MEANS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE HEATHENS.
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AN ENQUIRY INTO THE OBLIGATIONS OF CHRISTIANS, TO USE MEANS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THE HEATHENS.
GET MORE BOOKS AT REVIVALPRESS.NET
88 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1792
About the author
William Carey
164 books20 followersWilliam Carey was an English Protestant missionary and Baptist minister, known as the "father of modern missions." Carey was one of the founders of the Baptist Missionary Society. As a missionary in the Danish colony, Serampore, India, he translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects. He also has at least four colleges named after him, William Carey International University in Pasadena, California, Carey Theological College, Carey Baptist College, and William Carey University, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_...
From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
April 8, 2025
As a standalone, I would probably give this a 3-star rating. In its context, though, it becomes a 4-star in my opinion—particularly related to hyper-calvinists denying the modern applicability of the Great Commission along with refusing to use means for missions. His treatment on the GC, the impediments to mission, and the use of means (coming back to prayer—if we *really* pray, we will inevitably love God's global mission) is really good.
I would also add that his main motive for mission is the need and the call to obey Christ. Well and good, but I have found Piper’s (and the Bible) emphasis on mission for the glory of God as the most heart-stirring call. Carey lacks this, partly due to whom he is writing against, and he could easily have made this the real answer to hyper-calvinists, especially when talks about prayer and God’s power.
Historical Note: If you look up Carey and his own going to India, I have a lot of serious concerns about his treatment of his first wife's mental state. While trying to judge with eyes toward this period history, not our own, I still leave with a sour taste and an unwillingness to completely heroize him for his own ministry.
I would also add that his main motive for mission is the need and the call to obey Christ. Well and good, but I have found Piper’s (and the Bible) emphasis on mission for the glory of God as the most heart-stirring call. Carey lacks this, partly due to whom he is writing against, and he could easily have made this the real answer to hyper-calvinists, especially when talks about prayer and God’s power.
Historical Note: If you look up Carey and his own going to India, I have a lot of serious concerns about his treatment of his first wife's mental state. While trying to judge with eyes toward this period history, not our own, I still leave with a sour taste and an unwillingness to completely heroize him for his own ministry.
May 18, 2024
Keep forgetting that I read this while I was sick a few weeks ago. This content seems pretty ho-hum to us today, but imagine being the first to say these things. Carey was a great man.
August 23, 2013
This is more a brief argument than a book, but it is effective at what it aims to do– awaken current and future audiences to the idea that missions is crucial. Just the author's challenge that the very reasons we use that worldwide missions is not feasible are invalidated by what we will do to make a buck in the world market is worth the price of admission. He also gives a very good view of the book of Acts from 20,000 feet in one of his chapters.
May 22, 2025
This is more of a long essay, but very God centered and covering an issue very few Christians consider. His overview of the church beginning in acts all the way to his present time was great. He greatly presses to go to places in which have absolute no access to the gospel at all and answers all objections in which people give on why they can’t send.
I pray the Lord would bring a revival to draw many to see the necessity to obey Christ through planting churches in places where He is no glorified.
I pray the Lord would bring a revival to draw many to see the necessity to obey Christ through planting churches in places where He is no glorified.
December 20, 2024
Good little book on the obligation for all Christians to participate in missionary work somehow.
May 26, 2022
In An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of Heathens, William Carey argues that the commission given by Christ to his disciples in Matthew 28:18-20 is a universal call to be answered by all Christians. All Christians throughout the church’s history must answer the call to make disciples of all nations. He goes on to show how the commission was carried out in the book of Acts and throughout the history of the early church into the present century. After describing the past, he focuses on his own historical era and describes the present state of missions in the church before going on to answer assumed objections to the missionary call in the final section of his book. One thing is abundantly clear from Carey’s Enquiry and it is that the missionary task is urgent, difficult, divinely mandated, and promised to come to pass through the Lord’s help.
August 20, 2013
This book, first published in 1792, is incredibly relevant to this day. Carey gives a brief overview of the spread of the gospel starting in Acts up to Carey's present day. He then presents strong and persuasive arguments for why missions is not optional, but rather a duty for all Christians. He argues from Scripture, that we are to use the means of God's grace to evangelize the lost. He also reasons that if traders go to the far reaches to make money, how much more should Christians go to save the souls of the lost. He also argues for the dignity of the most primitive people and longs to read great works from them as they are brought to salvation. A most encouraging and convicting read.
April 10, 2012
You want to know about modern missions? Better go to the father of modern missions and it is William Carey
May 14, 2022
Don’t let the title intimidate you. This is an excellent enquiry by an 18th century baptist into the means by which Christians should spread the gospel to unteaches peoples. The means he suggests are that churches should send, support, and pray for missionaries to go out and spread the gospel into the world.
November 15, 2021
An important book for every Christian to read and prayerfully consider
January 10, 2022
Really good arguments for being part of missions. An old short book that inspired the haystack revival is worth the read.
January 30, 2024
An important landmark in the modern missions movement and a good look into the biblical mandate for missions.
September 26, 2024
That this was written in 1792 is amazing and convicting. Carey dismisses the excuse of distance in missions with the invention of the mariners compass. What would he think of air travel and internet? So much of today’s missions mobilization strategies draws from Carey in this work. And a short read too!
December 4, 2023
The book is better than the title. Not necessarily a huge “eye opening” book, but definitely a great reminder of what we are called to as believers.
May 26, 2011
For its time, a very insightful overview and call to action.
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January 27, 2014
Father of missions? Providence of God combined with means? Excellent.
September 16, 2026
A vital and influential publication for a reason. Rather than a review, here's an assortment of reflections:
1. It's absolutely wild to imagine the spirit of apathy toward missions against which Carey wrote this treatise. Praise God for giving Carey to the Church to spur us into obedience to the great commission!
2. Carey's dismissals of objections to missions are just as effective now as they ever were -- especially in the face of the vocal minority pushing kinism, nationalism, etc. No one seems to think the obstacles too great when a profit is to be made; it's only when others' eternal good is at stake that we balk at the difficulty of the task.
3. I was struck by the balance here between Carey as a man of his time and Carey as a sober-minded Christian. On the one hand, he was rather quick to characterize all the heathen nations as uncivilized, lawless, etc. He thought the spread of the gospel would tame the savages and lead them to greater temporal prosperity. He mentions Sierra Leone, in particular -- a sad test case for his theory that British Colonial efforts (accompanied by missionaries) would cause the foreign nations to prosper.
But on the other hand, he does not in any way dismiss the nations as ontologically lesser. He specifically (and I imagine controversially) affirms that the men and women of these pagan lands are just as capable, just as creative, just as intelligent as any European. The imago dei is foundational to the work of missions because the task assumes the people to whom the missionary preaches are fit by nature for the gospel.
4. I found it very interesting that one of his criteria for determining where the gospel needed to go was the local moral climate. And on that criteria, he judged that much of Europe was in dire need of missionaries. In fact, he names a number of practices related to European colonialism in this connection.
If the moral climate is an indication of need (and it surely is), then Europe and North America are surely in even greater need now than in the 18th century!
5. I found Carey's perspective on denominations in missions helpful. As a particular baptist, he proudly celebrates the accomplishments of Wesleyans and Moravians in spreading the gospel. You don't find here the sectarianism that so often pervades our presbyterian circles today.
Yet he also acknowledges the prudence of denominations approaching missions work independently. The sad fact of our disagreements means our attempts at cooperation would only be stalled by inter-denominational quarreling. I think the subsequent history of parachurch missions organizations has largely confirmed his thinking -- either secondary issues get in the way, or the message and methods get watered down to a degree that hampers long-term cultivation of churches.
6. Carey's prudent and patient model of long-term missions work continues to prove better than all the alternatives that have since been proposed. Relocate, integrate, and then preach. God grant that all our churches would prioritize and celebrate the slow work of evangelism across the world.
1. It's absolutely wild to imagine the spirit of apathy toward missions against which Carey wrote this treatise. Praise God for giving Carey to the Church to spur us into obedience to the great commission!
2. Carey's dismissals of objections to missions are just as effective now as they ever were -- especially in the face of the vocal minority pushing kinism, nationalism, etc. No one seems to think the obstacles too great when a profit is to be made; it's only when others' eternal good is at stake that we balk at the difficulty of the task.
3. I was struck by the balance here between Carey as a man of his time and Carey as a sober-minded Christian. On the one hand, he was rather quick to characterize all the heathen nations as uncivilized, lawless, etc. He thought the spread of the gospel would tame the savages and lead them to greater temporal prosperity. He mentions Sierra Leone, in particular -- a sad test case for his theory that British Colonial efforts (accompanied by missionaries) would cause the foreign nations to prosper.
But on the other hand, he does not in any way dismiss the nations as ontologically lesser. He specifically (and I imagine controversially) affirms that the men and women of these pagan lands are just as capable, just as creative, just as intelligent as any European. The imago dei is foundational to the work of missions because the task assumes the people to whom the missionary preaches are fit by nature for the gospel.
4. I found it very interesting that one of his criteria for determining where the gospel needed to go was the local moral climate. And on that criteria, he judged that much of Europe was in dire need of missionaries. In fact, he names a number of practices related to European colonialism in this connection.
If the moral climate is an indication of need (and it surely is), then Europe and North America are surely in even greater need now than in the 18th century!
5. I found Carey's perspective on denominations in missions helpful. As a particular baptist, he proudly celebrates the accomplishments of Wesleyans and Moravians in spreading the gospel. You don't find here the sectarianism that so often pervades our presbyterian circles today.
Yet he also acknowledges the prudence of denominations approaching missions work independently. The sad fact of our disagreements means our attempts at cooperation would only be stalled by inter-denominational quarreling. I think the subsequent history of parachurch missions organizations has largely confirmed his thinking -- either secondary issues get in the way, or the message and methods get watered down to a degree that hampers long-term cultivation of churches.
6. Carey's prudent and patient model of long-term missions work continues to prove better than all the alternatives that have since been proposed. Relocate, integrate, and then preach. God grant that all our churches would prioritize and celebrate the slow work of evangelism across the world.
October 5, 2021
At only 90 pages (in the paperback edition), I don’t know why I haven’t read this classic or modern missions before now. I read the Kindle edition, and therefore, taking notes and highlighting was a little easier.
Me. William Carey provided a brief survey (much according to tradition and the church fathers) of the earliest proclamation of Christ’s church to the nations, beginning with the 12 apostles. He also provides an argument for the application of the Great Commission to the church living after the apostles, since some argued the command and instruction of our Lord no longer applied in Carey’s day.
Mr Carey, not only a shoemaker but a Baptist pastor (and a particular, or Calvinistic, pastor, at that), urges ordinary Christians toward going or supporting others going to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations, especially where no witness had gone before, or where the light and the truth of the One True God has been lost.
He presents the objections that have been put forward and then removes, with logic and compassion, each of the barriers set forth. If what Mr. Carey advanced in 1792 as reasons for the removal of barriers is true, how much more, in 2021?
Me. William Carey provided a brief survey (much according to tradition and the church fathers) of the earliest proclamation of Christ’s church to the nations, beginning with the 12 apostles. He also provides an argument for the application of the Great Commission to the church living after the apostles, since some argued the command and instruction of our Lord no longer applied in Carey’s day.
Mr Carey, not only a shoemaker but a Baptist pastor (and a particular, or Calvinistic, pastor, at that), urges ordinary Christians toward going or supporting others going to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations, especially where no witness had gone before, or where the light and the truth of the One True God has been lost.
He presents the objections that have been put forward and then removes, with logic and compassion, each of the barriers set forth. If what Mr. Carey advanced in 1792 as reasons for the removal of barriers is true, how much more, in 2021?
September 11, 2018
Motivated to "Go"
This book has ignited a fire in me to obey the commandments of Jesus often referred to as the great commission which largely in our Christian world has become a great omission. The command is to go and it is still binding on us. My favourite quote in the book "As our blessed Lord has required us to pray that his kingdom may come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it becomes us not only to express our desires of that event by words, but to use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his name. In order to this, it is necessary that we should become, in some measure acquainted with the religious state of the world". William Carey gives an overview of the work of Holy Spirit in the world through the apostles and saints of God throughout history and gives some practical advice to missionaries on the field.
This book has ignited a fire in me to obey the commandments of Jesus often referred to as the great commission which largely in our Christian world has become a great omission. The command is to go and it is still binding on us. My favourite quote in the book "As our blessed Lord has required us to pray that his kingdom may come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven, it becomes us not only to express our desires of that event by words, but to use every lawful method to spread the knowledge of his name. In order to this, it is necessary that we should become, in some measure acquainted with the religious state of the world". William Carey gives an overview of the work of Holy Spirit in the world through the apostles and saints of God throughout history and gives some practical advice to missionaries on the field.
August 27, 2017
An excellent little book written by William Carey in 1792. In this book, Carey explains why Christians are obligated to spread the kingdom of Christ over all the earth. Carey's optimism is evident: "God repeatedly made known his intention to prevail finally over all the power of the devil, and to destroy all his works, and set up his own kingdom and interest among men, and extend it as universally as Satan had extended his." He gives a recap of the success of the gospel over the past 1700 years and also provides a review of all the nations of the earth and their religions. He ends with a chapter full of application on how Christians can go about the task of transforming cultures with the gospel.
July 28, 2018
Carey’s main appeals in this book I would summarize as two: (1) We must take the words of Jesus spoken to the disciples as spoken to us today. Therefore, the Great Commission applies directly to us and we have a responsibility to do something about the nations. (2) Why can the church not do any better than profit-seeking businessmen? Businessmen in Carey’s time were better about getting to the nations and all they had to inspire them was money and temporal glory. Carey urges the church on to take responsibility for the nations and calls for a manly sort of pursuit of the Great Commission. It was the adventure that, in part, convinced Carey to go and I would guess made it so appealing to so many others.
October 17, 2018
This was a good book though it left me eager to hear what more William Carey could have added to it if he were to write a full length book. But maybe that is a doing him an injustice because he was thorough in bring out his points. My biggest takeaway from the book was that each and every believer should be passionate about missions and the primary way this displays itself is in personal prayer for missions work. An individual that prays for the work on the mission field is not to far off from giving his time and money to the work where it is needed because he longs to meet the needs associated with the work.
Brothers Peter Joshua and Emmanuel Mkandawire, thank you for pointing me in the direction of this book
Brothers Peter Joshua and Emmanuel Mkandawire, thank you for pointing me in the direction of this book
March 17, 2023
Disclaimer: I only listened to this one on Hoopla.
Published in 1792, this small treaty was the domino the Lord was pleased to use to set off a chain reaction known as the Modern Missions Movement. In the work, William Carey details how the Scriptures teach the duty of Christians to proclaim the gospel to the unbelieving world, the historical spread of Christianity through missions from Christ to Carey’s present day, the need of missions and missionaries in the world, practical objections and solutions, and recommendations for missions. While the work isn’t thrilling, it is a work of substantial historical significance and full of the Scriptures.
Published in 1792, this small treaty was the domino the Lord was pleased to use to set off a chain reaction known as the Modern Missions Movement. In the work, William Carey details how the Scriptures teach the duty of Christians to proclaim the gospel to the unbelieving world, the historical spread of Christianity through missions from Christ to Carey’s present day, the need of missions and missionaries in the world, practical objections and solutions, and recommendations for missions. While the work isn’t thrilling, it is a work of substantial historical significance and full of the Scriptures.
March 6, 2025
Great book! It was very interesting to me to see his thoughts on the hindrances to missions - though written a couple hundred years ago - are still true today to some extent. Also, to see his solution- very much a “team missions” plan. We have seen that work and be a blessing here in Kumasi. One last takeaway is his passion which he puts forth, that if we would give ourselves with a single-minded purpose - both personally and financially - toward spreading the gospel, we could make a great difference! (Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.)
March 10, 2021
William Carey's short tract helped to galvanize the modern evangelical missionary movement. Carey retraces the missionary exploits of the apostles in the Book of Acts and the subsequent missionary endeavours recorded by church fathers into Asia, Europe, and Africa. About one-quarter of the tract is taken up with statistics on the number of inhabitants throughout the world and their religious affiliation. Carey urges Christians to continue proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world and many have heeded his call.
October 21, 2022
Good book promoting Missions
A challenge to each generation! We all see the need of missions. Each generation endures the rejection of the gospel. The church also reaps the consequences of corruption in the church. In this book the dark ages were really dark times for the church. A lot of heresy, violence, and forced faith stemming from Constantine. The book promotes mission overseas for lack of Christian organizations unlike America with churches at every corner. Pray fervently and ask God to help expose people to Jesus.
A challenge to each generation! We all see the need of missions. Each generation endures the rejection of the gospel. The church also reaps the consequences of corruption in the church. In this book the dark ages were really dark times for the church. A lot of heresy, violence, and forced faith stemming from Constantine. The book promotes mission overseas for lack of Christian organizations unlike America with churches at every corner. Pray fervently and ask God to help expose people to Jesus.
May 14, 2026
I rated this 4 stars, not because it was a great read, but because it was incredibly impressive the research, statistics, and labor that went into this. Also the heart of Carey to oppose any barriers people may have to spreading the gospel. The beginning also has an interesting explanation for the expansion of the church through the apostles and missionary movement until his time (1700/1800s). “What a heaven will it be to see the many myriads of poor heathens, of Britons amongst the rest, who by their labours have been brought to the knowledge of God”
January 14, 2022
Seminal work, providing compelling reasons for missions, a wonderful exposition of Acts and history of global missions from the apostolic era through the Puritan age, and an amazing description of the state of the lost in the eighteenth century world. Wonderful to read this knowing what Carey would do in India because of this passion.
April 18, 2023
Carey presents a wonderful argument for the enduring obligation of the Great Commission on both exegetical and historical grounds. He also does an excellent job presenting the need for sending missionaries and the Christian's duty to, as he has said elsewhere, either go down into the pit or hold the ropes for those willing to go.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews