The ‘pamphlet’ urged by Thomas Potts he now titled An…

““The ‘pamphlet’ urged by Thomas Potts he now titled An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, in Which the Religious State of the Different Nations of the World, the Success of Former Undertakings, and the Practicability of Further Undertakings are Considered. The title surely told anyone the publication would not be a pamphlet. It turned out to be a 87-page book. In the first section William asked the key question: Is the Great Commission still binding? And in this section he reviewed every objection he had ever heard against missionary work. Then he rebutted it. Examples of these were[3]: Objection: But how do we know that this command is still valid? Not even divine injunctions abide for ever. They have their periods and pass, like the Levitical law. Reply: Nay, divine injunctions abide till they have fulfilled their function. Who can think this commission exhausted, with the majority of mankind not yet acquainted with Christ’s name? Objection: But Christ’s command could scarcely have been absolute, even for the apostles, seeing that they never heard of vast parts of the globe - the South Seas for example -nor could they these be reached. Neither can we think it absolute today, with very large regions still unknown and unopened. Reply: As they (the apostles) were responsible for going according to their strength into all their accessible world, we are in duty bound to speed into our much enlarged world. Indeed, we ought to be keen to go everywhere for Christ, till all closed doors are opened. In””

— Sam Wellman