The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal…

If it be asked then, What can be understood by conviction? and if a person may be accounted convinced, who yet may be keeping the last word, and confidently bragging of the victory? Answ. That conviction is not to be bounded with acknowledgement or silence in the party convinced, we suppose is already cleared; yea, those that are convinced, may, as it were, cry the others out of the company by multitude of words and confidence of expressions, as those Jews did cry down Paul and Barnabas, Act. 13. 46. Therefore we see in that precept, Tit. 3. 10, 11. that the Heretic which is to be rejected, is both said to refuse admonition, and also to be condemned of himself; yet it cannot be said that he was put to silence by these admonitions, or did forbear to vent his errors: this therefore must be accounted certain, and is confirmed by 2 Tim. 2. 25. where the recovery of opposers, even after sufficient instruction, with meekness, hath a peradventure in it, as a thing most rarely to be found. We must therefore place conviction in some other thing than that: and so in answer to the question, What is to be accounted conviction? We say, 1. it is when a person is so far convinced, and the truth with his error so far cleared to be truth and error respectively, that his continuing obstinate, cannot be supposed to be of infirmity, which often will evidence it self in foolish, weightless and unreasonable shifts and answers, or when there cannot be weight in such an answer, to satisfy a mans own reason or conscience, if he were sober and at himself: upon this account, the Heretic is said to be condemned of himself, Tit. 3. 11. not because actually his conscience doth condemn him for dissimulation; for even then it is supposed he may be in a delusion, which keepeth off such challenges; and their consciences are said to be seared with an hot iron, 1 Tim. 4. 2. which importeth, they were not capable of positive convictions within themselves; but it must be understood ⟨p. 228⟩thus, that they are the cause of their own blindness, as wilfully and maliciously refusing and rejecting light when it is offered to them, and so the cause of their own damnation doth not flow from the neglect of others, in not holding forth to them sufficient light, but from their own obstinacy, prejudice and maliciousness. 2.