## AN ALARM
## TO UNCONVERTED SINNERS,
## IN A SERIOUS TREATISE;
SHOWING,
I. What Conversion is not, and correcting some mistakes about it II. What Conversion is, and what it consists of. III. The necessity of Conversion. V. The marks of the unconverted. V. The miseries of the unconverted. VI. Directions for conversion. VII. Motives for conversion.
By that faithful servant of Jesus Christ,
## MR. JOSEPH ALLEIN,
Minister of the Gospel at Taunton, in Somersetshire.
First published 1671
Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. JOHN 3.3.
HANOVER, N. H. PRINTED BY CHARLES SPEAR.
1816,
Modernized, formatted, corrected, and annotated by
© William Gross www.onthewing.org May 2010
Original page numbers are retained intra-text
## Last updated 6/9/2015
## Source text: http://www.archive.org/stream/alarmtounconvert00allerich/alarmtounconvert00allerich_
djvu.txt
## Editor’s Preface Few books, whether in print or out of print, have had as profound an effect on me as this one. It doesn’t matter if you are a non-believer, a nominal believer, or a sound believer, this book will rattle your cage. It will force you to confront who you truly are in your own mind, in the sight of men, and in the presence of God. It is not for the faint of heart. Be prepared to be challenged by this holy sentry who stands at the gates of hell, demanding to know who goes there, and warning you away. As you read this, please keep in mind the audience to whom Mr. Alleine is writing. These are the parishioners of the Church of England. Being English citizens, they were baptized into the church in their infancy. He pleads with them to examine themselves to be sure they understand it is not their baptism that saves them, but their faith in Jesus Christ. This edition is modernized and reformatted, so that page breaks are more readable. In-line Citations in the original have been superscripted, so they are less obtrusive. Where the original included more than one citation for a statement, and they are not at the end of a paragraph, they have been moved into footnotes. Additional citations are in blue ; my footnotes are likewise in blue ; this is to distinguish them from the original editor’s notes. Page number references in the footnotes refer to the original page numbers included intra-text. I pray Alleine’s work proves useful to examine your own walk with Christ, either affirming and strengthening your faith in Christ, or provoking you to flee to Him for salvation; this was Alleine’s purpose in writing it.
## 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.
Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are
disqualified. William H. Gross
May 4, 2010
Editor’s Preface TO THE READER AN EARNEST INVITATION TO SINNERS CHAP. I — SHOWING THE NEGATIVE, WHAT CONVERSION IS
NOT, AND CORRECTING SOME MISTAKES ABOUT IT. CHAP. II — SHOWING POSITIVELY WHAT CONVERSION IS. CHAP. III — THE NECESSITY OF CONVERSION. CHAP. IV — SHOWING THE MARKS OF THE UNCONVERTED. CHAP. V — SHOWING THE MISERIES OF THE UNCONVERTED. CHAP. VI — DIRECTIONS FOR CONVERSION.
Proposed Covenant The Author’s Advice. A Short Soliloquy For An Unregenerate Sinner. CHAP. VII — THE MOTIVES FOR CONVERSION. THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MR. ALLEINE’S COUNSEL FOR PERSONAL AND FAMILY
GODLINESS. USEFUL QUESTIONS, CASES OF CONSCIENCE
CHAP. I — THE SINGULAR DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS.
First case of Conscience. CHAP. II — Third case of Conscience, grounded upon the words of our Saviour:
## TO THE READER THAT WOULD BE SAFE AND HAPPY, IF it is possible that you will live hereafter, and are called to account in another world for what you do in this, then it would be wise to take the safest course, and not run the constant hazard of being dragged by death to judgment before you are prepared to meet your Judge. But another life , and a judgment to come , are more than possible: there is a high probability. Indeed, there is as great a certainty as can reasonably be expected that death will not put an end to your being; that you will live after the return of your body to the earth; and that you will then be tried, and sentenced to such a happiness or misery incomparably greater than anything — no, than all you ever felt or saw, heard of or imagined. These weighty truths are taught and established in some measure by the light of nature; but they are much more clearly and firmly taught and established by the oracles of God in the Holy Scriptures. Besides what they say of the different states of separated souls, they plainly teach, and strongly assert, that God has appointed a time in which he will judge the whole world, by the Mediator Jesus Christ; that this great Mediator, who is God as well as man, will descend from heaven, attended by its glorious inhabitants, with triumphant acclamations to his royal throne; that a mighty voice will call all who iv. ever dwelt on earth to make their personal appearance; that this awakening and commanding summons will be immediately heard and obeyed by the dead, and they, along with those then remaining alive, will all stand before the judgment seat; that after a thoroughly searching and impartial trial which will discover men’s several talents, trusts, and opportunities to get and do good, and their most secret actions, words and thoughts, every one of them will receive an unalterable sentence of absolution or condemnation. And then, those who are approved and absolved, will inherit a heavenly kingdom, prepared for them from the foundation of the world; they will be like the angels, their delightful companions; they will converse with their most amiable and loving Saviour, beholding and partaking of his glory. Indeed, they will resemble, see, and enjoy God himself in completed holiness and everlasting
bliss. Those, on the other hand, who are reprobate and damned, will never be admitted to the regions of light, nor be favoured with a glimpse of it. Instead, along with devils, in the blackness of eternal darkness, they will suffer the perpetual gnawings of the worm that does not die, and the extreme torments of unquenchable fire. These things cannot be denied. Therefore, if you don’t earnestly desire to be one of those to whom the Lord says, Come you blessed, Matthew 25:34 rather than, Depart you cursed; Matthew 7:23 and if you don’t readily welcome, and diligently use, any proper helps to avoid for yourself the most heavy and endless misery, and to attain for yourself the most pure, vast, and everlasting happiness; then you must be guilty of such woeful abuses of reason as to far exceed all the excesses of those who lack it; you must be grossly foolish and unnaturally cruel to your own soul, to your entire being! v. And such helps are now offered to you in this little book, which has a tincture of the excellent author’s flaming love toward God, and useful charity toward the souls of men. And now that it is in your hand, let me tell you that you cannot refuse to read it, or read it without doing what it so plainly teaches and affectionately urges, except at your greatest peril. If you will not, at a small expense of time and pains, read it over, and if this too is rejected after neglecting so many means of instruction, then how justly may you be destroyed for lack of knowledge? Hosea 4:6 How soon may the things which belong to your peace be hidden from your eyes? Luke 19:42 A continued wilful lack of understanding is large ground for fearing that he that made you will not have mercy on you, and he that formed you will show you no favour. Isaiah 27:11 If you read, but don’t practise what scripture and reason so compassionately plead for, then the increase of your knowledge will increase your sorrow, Ecclesiastes 1:18 because it will aggravate your sin; for if someone knows his Lord’s will, how and why to do good, and he does not do it, James 4:17 but instead he does the forbidden evil, then to him it is heinous, inexcusable sin for which he is liable to be beaten with many stripes; Luke 12:47 he is in constant dreadful danger of severer punishment. vi.
I hope therefore you will peruse so short a discourse, and are not unwilling to do it in such a manner as to grow acquainted with and be persuaded to do your great duty, which is also to your greatest advantage. The design of the following directions is so that you may not fail in it. 1. Pray in the name of Christ, as you are and will be enabled, for the more effectual assistances of the Holy Spirit. Such is the corruption of our nature that it utterly disables us from making a saving use of outward means without inward aids. Unless the Spirit, by his powerful operations, works you into a serious and teachable temper, unless he drives home the attempts of God’s messengers, and gives them an efficacy far beyond their own, then the most concerning truths and weightiest arguments can never be presented and enforced so as to overcome your sensual, worldly inclinations; nor will these rescue you from the dominion of sin and Satan and bring you back to God. You must therefore pray, and do that with appropriate apprehensions of the great God, with due regard for the gracious Mediator, with deep shame and sorrow for the sins you confess, with ardent desires for all the grace you beg for, and with faithful improvements of those measures you have already received. If you thus ask with fervent importunity, and persevering constancy, then you will undoubtedly find that God did not bid you to seek his face in vain. As our Lord warrants us to argue (Luke 11), if a man will not deny a friend what he is vii. pleading for, and if a father will grant his son what he asks for and wants, then much more will your heavenly Father give you the Holy Spirit for all necessary purposes, to produce in you all those effects that are truly necessary for your eternal salvation. 2. Consider seriously what you read, and work it upon your soul to the extent that a given section concerns you. Medicines for the body will operate even if they are not thought about; but spiritual remedies for the mind require its co-operation with them: the clearest explications, fullest proofs, and strongest motives about matters of nearest and greatest concern, will not do the soul any good, unless by thinking it applies them, and extracts their virtue; nor will the Spirit heal its lamentable diseases if his influences are
not answered with suitable endeavours. Work then as the Spirit works in and with you; take into most serious consideration whatever is apt to promote your recovery; lay those things closest to heart which are likeliest to cure its hardness; inculcate and urge them, and along with that, cry mightily to the one who is able and no less willing to help you, until you feel his gentle force, and come to a conquering resolve that you must and will do as you are advised; until you not only assent to the course proposed as fit to be taken, but are steadily determined that it is best for you; that it is absolutely necessary, and it must effectually be prosecuted; that by the grace of God you will thoroughly change your heart and life; and so escape from the greatest evil, and ensure the highest good. viii. 3. Once you have seriously considered and resolved what to do, proceed to practice it with all your might, and without the least delay. It is commonly a work of some time to alter the temper of the soul, and to change the course of the life; and according to God’s usual methods, the longer you have been accustomed to do evil, the more time and pains will be required to break the force of stubborn lusts, to weaken and subdue vicious habits, and to gain habits of grace and goodness: to travel back the way you have gone wrong, and to get out of it, into the path of life. It is well then if there are enough days remaining for you to do the one thing needed. Luke 10:42 To be sure, you are not certain of an hour to spare; the loss of so small a part may prove the loss of all. Besides, if you put off your reformation, even if only for a little while, it is a sign you don’t really intend to be reformed at all. For against your own conviction, you intend to add sin to sin at present; and how can that be consistent with a hearty plan of growing good afterward? Don’t delude yourself, therefore, with such a desperate fraud, but imitate the royal Psalmist: when you have thought on your ways, turn your feet to God’s testimonies: make haste, and don’t delay to keep his commandments. Psalms 119:60
4. Remember that conversion to God is just the beginning of your duty; you must afterwards obey him all the days of your life. There is no other way to preserve an ix.
interest in his favour, and a right to its great expressions. The largest and last discoveries of divine grace teach you to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts; to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; Titus 2:12 and by so doing, to look for the blessed object of your hope: they warn you plainly enough against drawing back to perdition; Hebrews 10:39 they threaten a final rejection if you deny your Saviour in words or works; and they often direct and command you to seek glory, and honour, and immortality, by patient continuance in well-doing; Romans 2:7 to be faithful to death, Revelation 2:10 whatever it costs you, so that your Lord may give you a crown of life. These may seem hard sayings, but they contain nothing like a reasonable discouragement. There is more than enough misery in hell to necessitate its prevention by any temporary labour, lack, and suffering; and there is an abundantly sufficient happiness in heaven to encourage a steadfast perseverance in the work of the Lord, even though it is more harsh and grievous than sinners imagine. Even at present, religion is not without a reward; indeed, if you try as you should, you will find it a reward in itself. When the main difficulties at first are over, your duty will grow easier daily. It will have many pleasures mixed with it; and at length it will itself become the greatest of them. It will not abridge your appetites for any desirable gratifications, but it will give them a new delicious relish of the fountain from which they flow: instead of the bindings and twinges of a bad conscience, and the dread of an after-reckoning, peace will settle x. within you, and fill you with comfortable reflections and joyful hopes. And by degrees, a loving, thankful, praising obedience will become your sweetest employment. In that, you may draw still nearer to God, delight yourself in him, and receive from him the desires of your heart: Psalms 37:4 you may always walk in the light of his countenance, Psalms 89:15 and feed on his loving kindness, which is better than life. Psalms 63:3 In short, before you ascend to heaven, you may be in a heaven on earth. And you may find, by happy experience, that the way to have all you can wish hereafter, is to be and to do what is best for you here.
## AN EARNEST INVITATION TO SINNERS
TO TURN TO GOD, IN ORDER TO THEIR ETERNAL SALVATION. DEARLY beloved and longed for, I gladly acknowledge I am a debtor to you all; and I am concerned, because I would like to be found a good steward to the household of God, giving to every one his portion. But the physician is most solicitous for those patients whose case is most doubtful and hazardous; and the father’s tender mercies are especially turned towards his dying child. The numbers of unconverted souls among you call for my most earnest compassions and hasty diligence to pluck them out of the burning. Jude 23 And therefore, I will first apply myself along these lines to these. But where will I fetch my arguments from, or how will I choose my words? Lord, with what will I woo them? With what will I win them? Oh, if I could only tell! I would write to them in tears. I would weep out every argument. I would empty my veins for ink. I would petition them on my knees — truly (were I able), I would. Oh, how thankful I would be if they would be prevailed upon to repent and turn!
How long have I travailed in birth with you? Galatians 4:19 How frequently have I courted you? How often would I have gathered you? Matthew 23:37 How instant have I been with you? This is what 12 I have prayed for and studied for, for many years: that I might bring you to God. Oh, that I might do it! Will you still be entreated? Oh, what a happy man you might make me if you would only listen to me, and allow me to carry you over to Jesus Christ! “But, Lord, how insufficient I am for this work! I have been many a year wooing for you, but the damsel would not go with me. Lord, what kind of task have you set me to do? Alas! With what will I pierce the scales of Leviathan, or make the heart that is hard as stone to feel; hard as a piece of millstone? Should I go and press my mouth to the grave, and expect the dead to obey me and come forth? Will I make an oration to the rocks, or declaim to the mountains, and think I will move them by arguments? Will I make the blind see? From the beginning of the world, it was not heard of that a man had opened the eyes of the blind. But you, O Lord, can pierce the scales, and prick the heart of the sinner. I can only shoot at rovers,
1 and draw the
bow at a risk; you direct the arrow between the joints of the harness, and kill the sin, and save the soul of a sinner who looks upon these labours.” But I must apply to you, the one to whom I am sent: yet I am at a loss. I wish to God I knew how to work with you! Should I hesitate at the difficulty of it? God knows, you yourselves are my witnesses, how I have followed you in private, as well as in public, 13 and have brought the gospel to your doors, testifying to you the necessity of the new birth, and persuading you to look for a sound and thorough change over time. Beloved, I have not acted out a part among you in order to serve my own advantage: our gospel is not yes and no. Haven’t you heard the same truths from the pulpit, by public labours, by private letters, and by personal instruction? Brothers, I am of the same mind as ever: that holiness is the best choice, that there is no entering into heaven except by the straight passages of the second birth, that without holiness you will never see God. Hebrews 12:14 Ah, my beloved! Refresh my tender mercies in the Lord. If there is any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, any tenderness and mercies, fulfil my joy. Now give yourselves to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 8:5 Now set yourselves to seek him. Now set up the Lord Jesus in your hearts, and set him up in your houses. Now come in and kiss the son, Psalms 2:12 and embrace the offers of mercy; touch his sceptre and live; why will you die? I don’t beg for myself, but I would willingly have you happy: this is the prize I run for and the mark I aim at. My soul’s desire and prayer for you is that you may be saved. Romans 10:1
The famous Lycurgus,
2 having instituted the strictest and most wholesome laws for his people, told them he was compelled to go on a journey away from them. He got them to bind themselves in an oath that his laws would be observed until his return. This being done, he went 14 into voluntary banishment and never returned. Why? So that, by virtue of their oath, they might be engaged to perpetually observe his laws. I think I would be glad to endure the hard conditions which he
endured (though I love you tenderly) so that I might engage you thoroughly to obey the Lord Jesus Christ. Dearly beloved, would you gladden the heart of your minister? Why then, embrace the counsels of the Lord by me: forego your sins; set to prayer; increase the worship of God in your families; keep your distance from the corruptions of the times. What greater joy for a minister than to hear of souls that are born to Christ by him, and that his children walk in the truth! 2Joh 4
Brothers, I beseech you, allow me friendly openness, and freedom with regard to your deepest concerns. I am not playing the orator to make a learned speech to you, nor am I dressing my dish with eloquence by which to please you. These lines are embarked on a weighty errand indeed, namely, to convince, convert, and save you. I am not baiting my hook with rhetoric, nor am I fishing for your applause, but for your souls. My work is not to please you, but to save you; nor is my business with your fancies, but with your hearts. If I don’t have your hearts, I have nothing. If I were to please your ears, I would sing another song. If I were to preach myself, I would steer another course: I could then tell you a smoother tale: I would make you pillows, and speak peace to you: for how can Ahab love his Micaiah 15
who always prophecies evil concerning him? 1Kng 22.8 But how much better are the wounds of a friend, than the fair speeches of the harlot who flatters with her lips until the arrow strikes through the liver and hunts for the precious life? Proverbs 7:21-23; 6.26 If I were to quiet a crying infant, I might sing him into a pleasant mood, and rock him asleep: but when the child has fallen into the fire, the parent takes another course: he will not go to still him with a song or a trifle. I know if we don’t make haste with you, you are lost: if we cannot get your consent to arise and come away, you will perish forever: if there is no conversion, there is no salvation. I must get your goodwill, or else I will leave you miserable. But here the difficulty of my work again recurs to me. “Lord, choose my stones out of the rock.” 1Sam. 17.40, 45 I come in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. I come out like the
stripling David — not to wrestle with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world. Eph, 6.12 This day, let the Lord strike the Philistine, and strip the strong man of his armour, and allow me to fetch the captives out of his hand. Lord, choose my words, choose my weapons for me; and when I put my hand into the bag and take a stone from it, and sling it, carry it to the mark and make it sink, not into the forehead, 1Sam.
17.49 but into the heart of the unconverted sinner, and knock him to the ground. As with Saul, 16
in his so happy fall, Acts 9:4 you have sent me as Abraham sent his servant, to obtain a wife for my master, your Son. Genesis 24:4 But my discouraged soul is ready to fear that the woman will not be willing to follow me. Lord God of my master, I pray you send me good speed this day, and show kindness to my master, and send your angel before me, and prosper my way, that I may obtain a wife for your Son, Genesis 24:12 that just as your servant did not rest until he had brought Isaac and Rebekah together, so I may be successful in bringing Christ and the souls of my people together before we part.” But I turn to you. Some of you don’t know what I mean by conversion, and so it would be in vain to persuade you of something you don’t understand; therefore, for your sakes, I will show you what this conversion is. Others cherish secret hopes of mercy, even though they continue as they are in sin; and for them I must show the necessity of conversion. Others are likely to harden themselves with an empty conceit that they are converted already; to them I must show the marks of the unconverted. Others, because they feel no harm, fear none — and so they sleep on top of the mast; to them I will show the misery of the unconverted. Others sit still, because they don’t see their way out; to them I will show the means of conversion. And finally, for the enlivening of all, I will close with the motives for conversion.
## CHAP. I — SHOWING THE NEGATIVE, WHAT
## CONVERSION IS NOT, AND CORRECTING SOME MISTAKES ABOUT IT.
LET the blind Samaritans worship what they don’t know; John 4:22 let the heathen Athenians superscribe their altar to the unknown God; Acts 17:23 let the guileful Papists commend the mother of destruction Hosea 4:6 as the mother of devotion. Those who know man’s constitution, and the nature of the reasonable soul’s operation, must know that understanding has dominion in the soul; thus one who works rationally at conversion must labour to let the light in here. Ignorantis non est consensus.
3 And therefore, so you may not mistake me, I will show you what I mean by the conversion which I persuade you to endeavour after.
It is said that when Jupiter
4 let down the golden chaplets
## 5 from heaven, all but one were stolen; upon which (to avoid losing a relic of such great esteem) they made five others so like it, that if any were wickedly minded enough to steal that one too, they would not be able to discern which it was. And truly, my beloved, the devil has made many counterfeits of this conversion, and cheats one with this, and another with that: and he has such a craft and artifice in this mystery of deceits, that (if it were possible) he would deceive the very elect. Now, so that I may cure 18 the damnable mistakes of some who think they are converted when they are not , as well as remove the troubles and fears of others who think they are not converted when they are , I will show you the nature of conversion, both negatively (what it is not), and positively (what it is). We will begin with the negative. 1. It is not taking on the profession of Christianity . Doubtless Christianity is more than a name. If we hear Paul, it does not lie in words but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 If ceasing to be Jews and Pagans, and verbally professing to be Christians, had been true conversion (this is all that some understood it to be), then who would
make better Christians than those of Sardis and Laodicea? These were all Christians by verbal profession, and so they had a name to identify them; but because they only had a name, they are condemned by Christ who threatened to spit them out. Revelation 3:16 Aren’t there many who name the name of the Lord Jesus, and yet don’t depart from iniquity? 2 Timothy 2:19 who profess they know God, but by their works they deny him? Titus 1:16 And will God receive these as true converts merely because they turned to the Christian religion? What! Converts from sin who still live in sin? It is a visible contradiction. Surely if the lamp of their profession had served the turn, the foolish virgins would never have been shut out. Matthew 25:3, 12 We find that not only those who profess Christ, but also preachers of Christ, and wonder-workers, are turned away because they are evil-workers. Matthew 7:22-23
## 19 2. It is not being washed in the laver of regeneration , or putting on the badge of Christ in baptism. Many take the press- money,
6 and wear the uniform of Christ, yet they never stand to their colours, or follow their leader. Ananias, Saphira, and Magus were each baptized, as well as the rest. It is absurd that so many confuse deceiving with being deceived! They dream that effectual grace is necessarily tied to the external administration of baptism (which revives the Popish tenet of the sacraments working grace in us ex opere operato
7 ); and so every infant would be regenerated not only sacramento tenus ,
8 sacramentally, but really and properly. From this, men fancy they were regenerated when they were baptized; thus they need no further work. But if this were so, then all who were baptized in their infancy must necessarily be saved, because the promise of pardon and salvation is made to all those who are converted and regenerated.
9 Our calling, and our sanctification (as to its beginnings) or our conversion (which are the same things, differently conceived and expressed) are just the middle link in the golden chain. They are fastened to election at the one end, and glorification at the other.
10 The silver cord may not be broken, nor may the connection between salvation and
sanctification, between grace and glory, be impiously violated. Matthew 5:8 If we were indeed born again, it is to an 20 incorruptible inheritance, reserved in heaven for us; and the divine power is engaged to keep us for it. 1Pet 1.5 If the regenerate may perish in their sins in the end, then we will no longer say His seed remains in someone who is born of God, and that he cannot sin 1 John 3:9 (i.e. sin unto death), nor that it is impossible to deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24
And indeed, if this were true, then to see our names written in heaven, all we need to do is search the church register to see if we were baptized. I would keep my certificate of baptism as my best evidence for heaven, and a wet finger would assure my gracious state. Men would do well to carry a certificate of their baptism with the register’s signature on it (just as the philosopher would be buried with the bishop’s bond in his hand, which he had given him in order to receive his alms in another world); when they died, upon seeing this certificate, there would be no doubt they would be admitted into heaven. In short, if there is nothing more necessary to conversion or regeneration than to be turned to the Christian religion, or to be baptized in infancy, this will fly directly in the face of Matthew 7:14, as well as multitudes of others. We will no longer say, Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way; Matthew 7:14 for if all who were baptized and of the true religion are saved, then the door has become heavenly wide; and we will then say, “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that 21 leads to life.” If this is true, then whole parishes, indeed, whole countries and whole kingdoms may go in side by side; and we will no longer teach that the righteous are scarcely saved, or that there is need of such a stir in taking the kingdom of heaven by violence, and striving to enter in. Surely if the way is as easy as many make it, there is little more necessary than to be regenerated in our baptism and cry God mercy, and be absolved by the minister at our end; it is more hassle than we need to put ourselves to in such running, seeking, knocking, fighting, and wrestling, as the word requires as necessary
to salvation. Secondly, If this is true, we will no longer say, Few find it; indeed, we will rather say, Few miss it: we will no longer say of the many that are called, that few are chosen, Matthew 22:14 and that even of professing Israel, only a remnant will be saved. Romans 11:5 If this doctrine is true, we will not say any longer with the disciples, Who then will be saved? Rather, who then will not be saved? If a man is called a brother (that is, a Christian) and he is baptized, even though he is a fornicator, or a railer, or covetous, or a drunkard, he will still inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 5:11; 6.9-10
But the Arminian will reply, Such as these, though they received regenerating grace in baptism, have since fallen away and must be renewed again, or else they cannot be saved. 22 I answer, 1. That there is an infallible connection between regeneration and salvation, as we have already shown; I itch to further evidence it, but that it goes against my intended brevity. 2. Then men must be born again, which carries a great deal of absurdity in its very face. And why may not men be twice born in nature as well as in grace? Why not as great an absurdity to be twice re -generated as to be twice generated? But 3. and above all, this allows the thing I contend for: that whatever men receive or pretend to receive in baptism, if they are afterwards found to be grossly ignorant, profane, nominal, or without the power of godliness, they must be born again, or else be shut out of the kingdom of God. So then, they must have more to plead for themselves than their baptismal regeneration. Well, in this you see all are agreed that more or less is received in baptism if (when men come of age) they are evidently unsanctified; they must be renewed again by a thorough and powerful change, or else they cannot escape the damnation of hell. Friends and brothers, don’t be deceived; God is not mocked. Galatians 6:7 Whether it is your baptism, or whatever else you pretend, I tell you from the living God, that if any of you are prayerless persons, John 15:14 or unclean, or malicious, or covetous, or riotous, or a scoffer, or a lover of evil
company; Proverbs 13:20 in a word, if you are not holy, strict, and self- denying Christians;
11 you cannot be saved unless you are transformed by a further work upon you, and renewed again by repentance. 23 Thus I have shown that it is not enough to evidence that a man is regenerate merely because he has been baptized; effectual grace does not necessarily accompany baptism, as some have vainly asserted. But I must answer one objection before I pass. Obj. The sacraments certainly attain their ends when men do not ponere obicem , 12 or lay some obstructions, which infants do not .
Ans. I answer that it is not the purpose of baptism to regenerate.
1. Because then there would be no reason why it should be confined only to the seed of believers; for both the law of God, and the nature of charity, requires us to use the means of conversion for all, as far as we have opportunity. Were this true, there is no better charity than to catch the children of Turks and Heathens and baptize them, and dispatch them to heaven out of hand; like the bloody wretches that made the poor Protestants (to save their lives) swear they would come to mass, and that they would never depart from it; and then they put them to death immediately, saying they would hang them while in a good mind. 2. Because it presupposes regeneration, and therefore it cannot be intended to confer it. In all the express instances in scripture, we find that baptism assumes their repentance, belief, and receipt the Holy Ghost.
14 It would be no little absurdity to imagine that baptism was instituted for an end of which not one of the first subjects was capable; 24
(for they were all adult persons, and supposed to have faith and repentance, just as they professed; and their children were not baptized until after them, in their own right). Were this doctrine true, baptism would make disciples; but we find that scripture declares them such beforehand. Matthew 28:19
3. Because baptism is only a seal of the covenant, it cannot convey the benefits except according to the tenor of the covenant to which
## the seal is set. Now the covenant is conditional; therefore the seal conveys conditionally. The covenant requires faith and repentance as the conditions of the grand benefits: pardon and life. Acts 16:31; 3.19 And what the covenant does not convey except upon these conditions, the seal cannot. So baptism presupposes faith and repentance in the subject, without which it neither does nor can convey the saving benefits; otherwise the seal would convey contrary to the tenor of the covenant to which it is affixed. 3. It does not lie in moral righteousness . — This does not exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, and therefore it cannot bring us to the kingdom of God. Matthew 5:20 Paul, while unconverted, was blameless as to the righteousness which is in the law. Philippians 3:6 None could say, your eye is black. The self-judge could say, I am no extortioner, adulterer, unjust, etc. Luke 18:11 You must have something more than all this to show, or else (however you may justify yourself ) God will condemn you. I don’t condemn morality, 25 but I warn you not to rest here. Piety includes morality, just as Christianity includes humanity, and grace includes reason; but we must not divide the tables. 4. It does not consist in external conformity to the rules of piety . It is too obvious that men may have a form of godliness without the power of it. 2 Timothy 3:5 Men may pray long, Matthew 23:14 and fast often, Luke 18:12 and hear gladly, Mark 6:20 and be very ambitious in the service of God, even though it is costly and expensive, Isaiah 1:11 and yet be strangers to conversion. They must plead more than that they keep their church, give alms, and pray, if they are to prove themselves sound converts. There is no outward service that a hypocrite cannot do; even to the point of giving all his goods to the poor, and his members to the fire. 1 Corinthians 13:3
## 5. It does not lie in chaining up corruption by education, human laws, or the force of obligatory affliction . It is too common and easy to mistake education for grace; but if this were enough, who was a better man than Joash? While Jehoiada his uncle lived, he was ambitious in God’s service, and he calls upon him to repair the house of the Lord. 2Kng 12.2, 7 But all this while it was
nothing more than good education; for when his good tutor was taken out of the way, he appears to have been a wolf chained up, for he falls into idolatry.
## 6. In short, it does not consist in illumination . or conviction : in a superficial change , or partial reformation : An apostate may be a man enlightened, Hebrews 6:4 a Felix who trembles under convictions, Acts 24:25 and a Herod who amends many things. Mark 6:20
26 But it is one thing to have sin alarmed only by convictions , and another to have it captivated and crucified by converting grace . Many, because their consciences have been troubled for their sins, think their case is well; they miserably mistake conviction for conversion . Cain might have passed for a convert among these, because he ran up and down the world like a man distracted under the rage of a guilty conscience till, with building and business, he had worn it away. Genesis 4:13-14 ff . Others think that, because they have given up their riotous ways, and have broken away from evil company, or from some particular lust, and they are reduced to sobriety and civility, that they are now real converts. They forget that there is a vast difference between being sanctified and civilized ; many seek to enter into the kingdom of heaven, Luke 13:24 and are not far from it, Mark 12:34 and almost arrive at Christianity; Acts 26:28 yet they fall short in the end. While conscience holds the whip over them, many will pray, hear, read, and forbear their delightful sins; but no sooner is this lion asleep, than they are at their vomit again. Who was more religious than the Jews when God’s hand was upon them? Psalms 78:34-35 But as soon as the affliction ended, they forgot God, and showed their religion was a fit,
16 Psalms 78:36-37 You may have disgorged a troublesome sin that will not sit well in your stomach, 27 or escaped many of the grosser pollutions of the world; yet all the while, you have not changed your swinish nature. 2Pet 2.20, 22
You may cast the lead out of its rude mass into the more attractive proportions of a plant, and then into the shape of a beast, and from
that into the form and features of a man; but all the while it is still only lead. In the same way, a man may pass through various transformations, from ignorance to knowledge, from profaneness to civility, and from there to a form of religion; and all this while he is still carnal and unregenerate, as long as his nature remains unchanged. Application. Hear then, O sinners! Hear as you would live: so come and hear. Isaiah 55:3 Why would you so wilfully deceive yourselves, or build your hopes upon the sand? I know whoever goes to pluck away your hopes will find it hard work. It must seem ungrateful to you, and truly it is not pleasing to me. I set about it as a surgeon when he must cut off a putrified member from his well-beloved friend; he must do it by force, but with an aching heart, a pitying eye, a trembling hand. Yet understand me, brothers: I am only taking down the delapidated house, (which will otherwise speedily fall by itself, and bury you in the rubbish) that I may build good, and strong, and firm forever. The hope of the wicked will perish if God is true to his word. Proverbs 11:7 Would you not be better off, O sinner, to let the word convince you now, in time, and to let go of your self-deluding hopes, than to have death open your eyes too late, and find yourself in hell before you are aware? 28 I would be a false and a faithless shepherd if I did not tell you that, if you have built your hopes on no better grounds than these forementioned, you are still in your sins. Let your consciences speak: what is it that you will plead for yourselves? Is it that you wear Christ’s uniform? That you bear his name? That you belong to the visible church? That you know the points of religion? That you are civilized; that you perform religious duties, are just in your dealings, and your conscience has been troubled for your sins? I tell you from the Lord, these pleas will never be accepted at God’s bar. All this, though good in themselves, will not prove you are converted, and so it will not suffice for your salvation. Oh, look around you, and think of turning speedily and soundly. Set to praying, and reading, and studying your own hearts; don’t rest until God has made thorough work with you; for you must be other men, or else you are lost men.
## But if these types fall short of conversion, what will I say about the profane sinner? It may be that he will scarcely turn his eyes or lend his ears to this discourse. But if any such sinner is reading this, or within hearing ot if, he must know from the Lord that made him, that he is far from the kingdom of God. May a man be civilized and not converted ? What then of the drunkard and glutton? May a man keep company with the wise virgins, and yet be shut out? Is it not much more likely that a companion of fools will be destroyed? Proverbs 13:20 May a man be true and just in his dealings with others, 29 and yet not be justified by God? What then will become of you , O wretched man, whose conscience tells you that you are false in your trade, and false to your word, and take advantage by a lying tongue? If men who are enlightened, and perform holy duties, and yet go down to perdition for resting in them, and stay on this side of conversion, then what will become of you , O miserable families that live without God in the world? And what of you, O wretched sinners with whom God is scarcely in your thoughts, you who are so ignorant that you cannot pray, or so careless that you will no t? Oh, repent, and be converted! Break off your sins with righteousness; flee to Christ for pardoning and renewing grace; surrender yourselves to him, to walk with him in holiness, or else you will never see God. Oh, that you would take the warnings of God! In his name I once more admonish you, Turn at my reproof , Proverbs 1:23 forsake the foolish and live. Proverbs 9:6 Be sober, righteous, and godly. Titus 2:12 Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 Cease to do evil; learn to do well. Isaiah 1:16-17 But if you continue as you are, you must die. Ezekiel 33:11
## CHAP. II — SHOWING POSITIVELY WHAT CONVERSION
## IS. I am not permitted to leave you with your eyes half open, like the one who saw men like trees walking. Mark 8:24 The word is profitable for doctrine as well as reproof , 2 Timothy 3:16 And therefore, having conducted you this far past the shelves and rocks of so many dangerous mistakes, I would guide you at length into the harbour of truth. Conversion then (in short) lies in the thorough change both of the heart and life. I will briefly describe it in its nature and causes. 1 . The author is the Spirit of God.
And therefore it is called the sanctification of the Spirit, 2Thes 2.13 and the renewing of the Holy Ghost, Titus 3:5 yet not excluding the other Persons in the Trinity: for the apostle teaches us to bless the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he has caused us to be born again; 1Pet 1.3
and Christ is said to give repentance to Israel, Acts 5:31 and he is called the everlasting Father; Isaiah 9:6 and we are his seed, and the children which God has given him.
17 Oh, blessed birth! Seven cities contended for the birth of Homer, but the whole Trinity fathers the new creature. Yet this work is principally ascribed to the Holy Ghost, and so we are said to be born of the Spirit. John 3:8
So then, it is a work above man’s power. 31 We are born, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:13 Never think you can convert yourself: if you would ever be savingly converted, you must despair of doing it in your own strength. Jeremiah 13:93 It is a resurrection from the dead,
18 a new creation,
## a work of absolute ominipotence. Ephesians 1:19 Are these not beyond the reach of human power? If you have no more than you had by your first birth (a good nature, a meek and chaste temper, etc.), then you are a stranger to true conversion. This is a supernatural work. 2. The moving cause is either internal, or external .
## The internal mover is free grace alone: Not by works of righteousness which we have done; but of his own mercy he saved us by the renewing of the Holy Ghost . Titus 3:5 Of his own will he bore us . James 1:18 We are chosen and called to sanctification, not because of it. Ephesians 1:4
God finds nothing in a man to turn his heart, but to turn his stomach; there is enough to provoke his loathing, but nothing to provoke his love. Look back at yourself, O Christian. Take your verminous rags; look at yourself in your blood. Ezekiel 16:6 Oh, reflect upon your swinish nature, your filthy swill, your once-beloved mire! 2Pet 2.22 Can you think of your trough and draught without loathing? Open your tomb. Matthew 23:27 Aren’t you struck almost dead with the hellish damp? Behold your putrid soul, your loathsome members. 32 Oh, insufferable stench, if you would only smell your own putrefaction! Psalms 14:3 Behold your ghastly visage, your crawling lusts, your slime and corruption. Don’t your own clothes abhor you? Job 9:31 How then could holiness and purity love you? Be astonished at this, O heavens; be moved, O earth! Jeremiah 2:12 Who is it that must cry, Grace! grace! Zechariah 4:7 Hear and blush, you children of the Most High; O you unthankful generation! Blush that free grace is no longer in your mouths, or in your thoughts: it is no longer adored, admired, and commended by such as you. One would think you would do nothing but praise and admire God, whatever you are. How can you rationalize so as to forget such grace, or pass it over with a slight and rare mention? What besides free grace would move God to love you, unless hostility could do it, or deformity could do it, unless vomit or rottenness could do it? How affectionately does Peter lift up his hands? Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who of his abundant mercy has caused us to be born again. 1Pet 1.3 How emotionally does Paul magnify the free mercy of God? God, who is rich in mercy, has made us alive together with Christ because of his great love with which he loved us: by grace you are saved. Ephesians 2:4-5