Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity" was not intended as a timeless piece of literature. Perhaps more than simply a speech he gave to inspire his fellow Puritan settlers to fully commit to their new settlement, and to caution them about the true cost of failing at their commission, its purpose may have been to address a larger audience. As Hugh Dawson suggests in his article "'Christian Charitie' As Colonial Discourse":

The occasion gave its themes of dependence and reassurance urgency, but beyond seeking to inspire those leaving, Winthrop insisted that all those who had committed themselves to the Colony—those about to sail, the others of the sect now settled …, and those remaining at home—be faithful to their promises…. Beneath his confident exhortation to those about to sail, it finds another, perhaps more important text directed to the larger community of all those in...