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Joseph Alleine
Joseph Alleine (1634–1668). Born in early 1634 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, to Tobie Alleine, a Puritan merchant, Joseph Alleine was a Nonconformist pastor and author whose fervent evangelism left a lasting legacy. From age 11, his godly conduct marked him for ministry, intensified by the 1645 death of his brother Edward, a clergyman, prompting Joseph to seek education to succeed him. Entering Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1649, he studied under Puritan divines like John Owen, transferring to Corpus Christi College in 1651, graduating with a BA in 1653. In 1655, he became assistant to George Newton at St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton, marrying his cousin Theodosia Alleine that year; she ran a boarding school and later chronicled his life. His rigorous devotion—rising at 4 a.m. for prayer—fueled powerful sermons that packed churches, converting many. Ejected in 1662 for nonconformity under the Act of Uniformity, Alleine preached illegally, enduring multiple imprisonments, including a year in Ilchester jail, where he wrote Christian Letters. Released in 1664, he defied the Five Mile Act, preaching until his health failed, dying on November 17, 1668, at 34, buried in Taunton as he wished. His book An Alarm to the Unconverted (1658), also called A Sure Guide to Heaven, influenced evangelists like George Whitefield, with over 500 reprints. Alleine said, “The sound convert takes a whole Christ, upon His own terms, without reserves.”
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Joseph Alleine preaches about the difference between the unsound convert and the sound convert. The unsound convert only seeks salvation from Christ but not sanctification, dividing the offices and benefits of Christ. They desire salvation from suffering but not from sinning, wanting their souls saved while still holding onto their lusts. On the other hand, the sound convert accepts a whole Christ without exceptions, willing to have Christ's dominion and deliverance, surrendering fully to His conditions.
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They Cannot Leave the Lap of Delilah!
(Joseph Alleine, "Alarm to the Unconverted!" 1671) The unsound convert takes Christ by halves. He is all for the salvation of Christ — but he is not for sanctification. He divides the offices and benefits of Christ. Hypocrites do not love the Lord Jesus in sincerity. They will not have Him as God offers, "to be a Prince and a Savior" (Acts 5:31). They divide what God has joined, the King who rules — and the Priest who saves. They desire salvation from suffering — but they do not desire to be saved from sinning. They would have their souls saved — but still would have their lusts. They would be content to have some of their sins destroyed — but they cannot leave the lap of Delilah, or divorce the beloved Herodias. They cannot be cruel to the right eye or right hand. The sound convert takes a whole Christ, and takes Him for all intents and purposes, without exceptions, without limitations, without reserve. He is willing to have Christ upon any terms. He is willing to have the dominion of Christ — as well as deliverance by Christ. He says with Paul, "Lord, what will you have me to do?" Anything, Lord! He gives Christ the blank page — to write down His own conditions.
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Joseph Alleine (1634–1668). Born in early 1634 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, to Tobie Alleine, a Puritan merchant, Joseph Alleine was a Nonconformist pastor and author whose fervent evangelism left a lasting legacy. From age 11, his godly conduct marked him for ministry, intensified by the 1645 death of his brother Edward, a clergyman, prompting Joseph to seek education to succeed him. Entering Lincoln College, Oxford, in 1649, he studied under Puritan divines like John Owen, transferring to Corpus Christi College in 1651, graduating with a BA in 1653. In 1655, he became assistant to George Newton at St. Mary Magdalene, Taunton, marrying his cousin Theodosia Alleine that year; she ran a boarding school and later chronicled his life. His rigorous devotion—rising at 4 a.m. for prayer—fueled powerful sermons that packed churches, converting many. Ejected in 1662 for nonconformity under the Act of Uniformity, Alleine preached illegally, enduring multiple imprisonments, including a year in Ilchester jail, where he wrote Christian Letters. Released in 1664, he defied the Five Mile Act, preaching until his health failed, dying on November 17, 1668, at 34, buried in Taunton as he wished. His book An Alarm to the Unconverted (1658), also called A Sure Guide to Heaven, influenced evangelists like George Whitefield, with over 500 reprints. Alleine said, “The sound convert takes a whole Christ, upon His own terms, without reserves.”