Loving Yourself, Loving Your Neighbor: On Rightly Ordered Love

We all know Jesus' words in Matthew 22:39: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The same command is found in Leviticus 19:18 and elsewhere in Scripture. It's pretty straightforward. However, we might wonder: "What does it mean to love myself? How do I love my neighbor the same way I love myself?" I've read …

Repentance: A Wonderful Gift from God (Brooks)

In his excellent treatise called "A Cabinet of Jewels," Thomas Brooks wrote well about faith, repentance, assurance, and other related topics. This morning I was reading his section on repentance and was deeply blessed by it. Here are some excerpts that I believe are worth sharing. May they be a blessing to you as well. …

“Do Not Boast About Faith…” (Augustine)

In his sixth homily on the Gospel of John, Augustine interacted with Donatus and the Donatists of his day. The Donatist Controversy is a larger topic, to be sure. Basically, the Donatists led a moment (schism) in the early church driven by the belief that they were the true church because they were striving for …

Music Monday: Our Immovable Hope

It's a good day to do another Monday Music post here on the Reformed Reader. Today I'd like to share a great hymn from Augustus Toplady. It's Hymn X (10) from volume six of his Works. Notice all the Scripture allusions in it! 1 Immovable our hope remains,Within the veil our anchor lies;Jesus, who washed …

On Loving Others… All Others! (Calvin)

It's probably safe to say that all Christians know that Christ calls us to love our neighbors - including our enemies (Mt. 5:43-44). In many places Scripture says we must love others. It's pretty clear and straightforward. Loving others means being kind to them, not slandering them, praying for them, and helping them when the …