“God’s purpose in the gift of Christ cannot be in any respect in vain” (A. A. Hodge, Confession of Faith, 74).

“Throughout the unfolding of the covenant of grace, has been preparing the hearts of His people for the new Jerusalem. When Adam and Eve had stood barred from the garden of Eden, separated from the God whose presence had marked every moment of their lives, turned over to the death that God had said would come upon their disobedience, clothed in the skins of slain animals, they could not have fathomed the iridescent glory of the new Jerusalem (Gen. 3:21–24). But gradually, over generations and generations, God prepared His people for it. God had His purpose, He pursued it by His covenant of grace, and in a city bulging with radiant light and jubilant praise, He achieves it. God has a people and they are dwelling with Him in eternal glory.”

STEPHEN G. MYERS, GOD TO US: COVENANT THEOLOGY IN SCRIPTURE, 400.

“The Biblical principle is to bring the sacrifice God designates. Psalm 50:23 reads, “He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me.” The Old Testament saints gave honor to God by obeying Him and offering the sacrifice that He commanded. To honor God in the church of the New Testament, believers also bring the sacrifice of thanksgiving, the fruit of lips, that God commands. This is an expression of the regulative principle. God, therefore, provides the substance and content of this praise. David confesses, “From You comes my praise in the great assembly” (Ps. 22:25). Calvin translates this text, “My praise shall proceed from thee,” and goes on to say, “I do not reject the other translation; but in my opinion, the Hebrew manner of expression here requires this sense — that David will take the matter of his song of praise from God.” That is, the substance and content of David’s praise is from God. The Hebrew does use the preposition from. Psalm 22:25 is an expression of the regulative principle.”

Dennis J. Prutow, Public Worship 101, 233-234.

“Regardless of how old your children are or how mature they appear to be, you must model for them a life of deep convictions. If our children see that we take biblical truths lightly, that will influence them to take our teaching lightly. You can’t teach your children what you yourself don’t value.”

Joel R. Beeke, How Do We Plant Godly Convictions in Our Children, 24.

“We need to warn our children of the danger of living to please themselves and failing to discipline themselves. We must teach them the deeper pleasures of hard work and service to others. Work is not just something that we have to do, although the principle still holds “that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). Rather, we should teach them that work is a calling from God and a delight for those created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–28).”

Joel R. Beeke, How Do We Plant Godly Convictions in Our Children, 22.

“So much of the Christian life is about learning to do the right things, at the right times, and in the right way. There is a time to play as well as a time to work. The real difficulty of the Christian life is learning to take hold of every facet of life and to channel it self-consciously to God’s glory in light of Scripture.”

Joel R. Beeke, How Do We Plant Godly Convictions in Our Children, 22.

“Without faith we have no business with Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yes and amen (2 Cor. 1:20). We are still in our sins, under the wrath of God, the curse of the law, eternal condemnation (Acts 26:18); without faith we are shut out of every hope of salvation (John 3:16, 18, 36).”

PETRUS VAN MASTRICHT, THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL THEOLOGY, VOLUME 2: FAITH IN THE TRIUNE GOD, 73.

“The smallest faith acknowledges its own infirmity, experiences it, and laments it (Mark 9:24), whereas unbelief is free from care (Rev. 3:17; Luke 18:11–12). (4) The smallest faith pants after remedies (Mark 9:24; 1 Peter 2:2); conversely, unbelief, as it is dead, is therefore without sense and without desire (John 5:40; Matt. 23:37).”

PETRUS VAN MASTRICHT, THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL THEOLOGY, VOLUME 2: FAITH IN THE TRIUNE GOD, 69.

“For one or the other is unavoidable: either we examine ourselves, or God, the searcher of hearts and the just judge, will examine us.”

PETRUS VAN MASTRICHT, THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL THEOLOGY, VOLUME 2: FAITH IN THE TRIUNE GOD, 66

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“Scripture teaches that faith does not consist in the observance of the commands of Christ. It does so in more than one way, when: (1) in its definitions it distinguishes faith and works, saying that the former is receiving Christ (John 1:12) and “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1), and that the latter on the contrary is the “fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). (2) It distinguishes faith and obedience as cause and effect (Gal. 5:6; 1 Tim. 1:5). (3) It assigns different effects to each: it assigns to faith justification (Rom. 3–4; Gal. 2–3; Eph. 2:8), adoption (John 1:12), and union with Christ (Eph. 3:17), and takes these things away from obedience or good works (Gal. 3:2, 5). (4) It also asserts a different norm for each: for faith, the gospel (Mark 1:15); for obedience, the law (Matt. 22:37; Rom. 13:8–10). In fact, (5) at least in the matter of justification, it opposes faith and obedience or good works (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16).”

PETRUS VAN MASTRICHT, THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL THEOLOGY, VOLUME 2: FAITH IN THE TRIUNE GOD, 54.