Born in Kettering, Northamptonshire, Brine was called into the ministry by the church at Kettering and after occasional preaching there for some time, he received a call to become pastor at a Particular Baptist church at Coventry. In 1730, he received a call to succeed William Morton, as pastor of the Baptist congregation at Curriers' Hall, Cripplegate, in London. His ministry continued there for the next thirty-five years during which time he took a principal lead in all the public activities and dialogue that concerned the Particular Baptist denomination. He died on February 21, 1765 and he was buried in Bunhill Fields cemetery. Although he left orders that no special funeral sermon should be preached for him, his friend, Dr. John Gill did take that occasion to preach a sermon to his own congregation from 1 Corinthians 15:10 - By the grace of God I am what I am. John Brine was a strong Calvinist in his theology, however some of his thoughts (but not all) are associated with the error of Hyper-Calvinism.