While we may use the word ‘conduct’ or ‘behavior’ to denote the sum-total of actions which constitute the patterns of life, yet behind all overt action is the dispositional character or complex which is the psychological determinant of action. Hence ethics must take into account the dispositional complex of which the overt act is the expression. This is to say, biblical ethics has paramount concern with the heart out of which are the issues of life.

John Murray, Principles of Conduct, 13.

[T]he decree of God does not displace history; on the contrary, it gives us history. It does not make the events of history eternal — if they were eternal they would not be historical events in time — but it does mean that the temporal events of history are grounded in the divine will and dependent upon God’s providence, ordinary and extraordinary, in order to come into existence and reach their end.

“Introductory Essay” by J. Mark Beach in Herman Bavinck, Saved By Grace, xxv.

[The] covenant of grace was first revealed in the promise of the Savior that God gave to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:15). It was more fully expressed in the promises God made to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 17:7). Finally, it was renewed, confirmed, and enlarged by the shedding of Christ’s blood at Calvary (Matt. 26:28; 2 Cor. 1:20). As in all the covenants God makes with human beings in Scripture, the covenant of grace is extended to believers and their children (Acts 2:39).

Joel R. Beeke, Parenting by God’s Promises, xvi.

The inclusion of both manuscripts and texts in the title is important. If one were to restrict the study of the documents to the texts which they contain, it would be possible to limit their use to the practice of textual criticism, that is to the study of variant readings and their placing in a chronology by which one, therefore to be adjudged the oldest, accounted for the formation of the others. But documents consist of more than the texts they contain, and their layout, their design and the material of which they are made, their ink and script, their marginalia and the ornamentation, paintings and bindings with which they may have been adorned all provide evidence about cultural as well as religious history and even cast light on economic, social and political matters. . . . The variant readings which are not the oldest are not therefore without interest. They provide information about subsequent interpretations of the text and understandings of Christian faith and practice, including the fact that the oldest form had been modified. The title is intended to reflect this wider value of the manuscripts for historical study.

D. C. PARKER, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT MANUSCRIPTS AND THEIR TEXTS, 7.

In this book, ‘document’ means a manuscript. The following quotation underpins not only this definition, but the entire concept of the book:

“The first step towards obtaining a sure foundation is a consistent application of the principle that KNOWLEDGE OF DOCUMENTS SHOULD PRECEDE FINAL JUDGEMENT UPON READINGS.”

The source of this (the part in capitals is often quoted) is one of modern textual criticism’s key texts, Westcott and Hort’s introduction to The New Testament in the Original Greek (p. 31). The meaning of the quotation is this: before deciding which of one or more different wordings is likely to be the source of the others, the scholar should know about the character and nature of the documents which contain the different wordings. They go on to write that “If we compare successively the readings of two documents in all their variations, we have ample materials for ascertaining the leading merits and defects of each” (p. 32).

This book follows not only the implications of Hort’s famous dictum but also the example of many predecessors by beginning with an introduction to the study of the manuscripts of the New Testament, in particular those in Greek and the oldest languages into which it was translated. The focus will be on two ways of studying a document: as a physical item, of a particular size, format, age, and so forth, and as what will be called a ‘tradent’ of the text or texts which it contains. The former belongs to the discipline of palaeography, the latter to textual criticism.

D. C. Parker, An Introduction to the New Testament Manuscripts and Their Texts, 2-3.

Deuteronomy 29:29 [KJV] The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

[Deuteronomy 29:29] speaks of the sufficiency of God’s revelation and affirms that he will reveal to his people whatever they need to know. This understanding should give them rest in knowing that he is at work and should help them trust in his sovereign ways. Their focus should be obedience to the word that God reveals.

Richard P. Belcher Jr., Prophet, Priest, and King: The Roles of Christ in the Bible and Our Roles Today, 20.

All who believe and are assured that grace and truth were obtained through Jesus Christ, and who know Christ to be the truth, agreeably to His own declaration, “I am the truth,” derive the knowledge which incites men to a good and happy life from no other source than from the very words and teaching of Christ. And by the words of Christ we do not mean those only which He spake when He became man and tabernacled in the flesh; for before that time, Christ, the Word of God, was in Moses and the prophets. For without the Word of God, how could they have been able to prophesy of Christ?

“Preface” to Origen De Principiis [On the Frist Principles] in Ante-Nicene Fathers, 4:239.

One of the most common missiological errors today is the teachin gthat Jesus Christ will not only save those who hear the gospel and believe but also those who have never heard. The only ones in true danger are the ones who hear the gospel and reject it, and with some missiologists, even these are not beyond hope. Religious pluralism and inclusivism are sme of the most deadly errors undermining the Christian missionary enterprise in our day. [Note: Author goes on and cites Carl E. Braaten and John Hick as examples.]

“The Reformed Confessions and Missions” by Wes Bredenhof in Planting, Watering, Growing: Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century, eds. Daniel R. Hyde and Shane Lems, 34.

In John 12:24, Jesus indicates the absolute necessity of His death if there is to be a church. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone” (emphasis added). The implication is clear. If Jesus does not die, there will be no church; but He does die, and so He brings forth His church, in which He reveals His glory.

“The Fruitful Grain of Wheat” by Brian Vos in Planting, Watering, Growing: Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century, eds. Daniel R. Hyde and Shane Lems, 11.

Jesus refers to the hour of His death as the hour “that the Son of Man should be glorified”([John] 12:23). . . . The hour of Jesus’ death is the hour of His glory, because at the cross, Jesus actually saves His people, securing their redemption for time and eternity. He dies in order to produce much fruit, and the fruit of His death is the salvation of men and women from every nation, tribe, people, and tongue.

“The Fruitful Grain of Wheat” by Brian Vos in Planting, Watering, Growing: Planting Confessionally Reformed Churches in the 21st Century, eds. Daniel R. Hyde and Shane Lems, 11.