In Winthrop’s legendary sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” he famously presents his views towards how life should be lived in the colonies. The Puritans were going off into a new world, where they could easily lose touch to their faith, so Winthrop emphasized that salvation was achieved by “doing justly, loving mercy, and walking with God.”

Winthrop encourages his fellow Puritans to embody a few characteristics as they reach their new home. The first of these being that the people should “account themselves knit in their bond of love” and embrace that bond in their lives to help each other and themselves. The second being that the needs of the public must be sought before any private issue in aims to establish a healthy relationship between church and state. Thirdly, we should strive to improve our lives so that we can better serve our Lord and resultantly improve oneself through serving the Lord. Finally, Winthrop encouraged the Puritans to do the amount of good deeds they had or would have done in England in their new home to keep their brotherhood and share their faith.

Winthrop envisions that the community will have a strong collective belief in God and that their shared belief will contribute to a positive lifestyle where members of the community help each other when they can. As Micah 6:8 states; “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Winthrop hopes that the group will follow scriptures like this so that they can live a humble life and avoid corruption. If the people live life according to God’s will, they will be collectively living good, loving, generous lives.

The following passage had a strong influence on Winthrop’s perception of the role of the new community; “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) Through passages like these Winthrop was able to conclude that the role of the new community was to be a religious beacon in the new world.

If I were a Puritan who was going to leave England and heard Winthrop’s speech, I would be deeply inspired. Leaving my home and everything I know would be such a scary thing to do, but Winthrop’s claims that we could all be alright if we stuck to each other and kept faith during this crazy time would give me something to hold to. My mentality towards the situation would shift from being terrified to confident as I accept that the only way to survive this sinking ship is to work together, and to love one another through a bond in faith.