"The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," declared John. United in having the same source of inspiration, both the Decalogue and the gospel of our Master are revelations of divine law. But the healing ministry of Christ Jesus marked a distinct advance in the understanding of God as infinite Spirit, Love, and of the power of God's law to save from sin, disease, and death.
For centuries, knowledge of the healing power of God's law seemed lost, until a lone woman, Mary Baker Eddy, armed with faith in God, searched the Bible, sought and found the truth, and later wrote in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 107), "In the year 1866, I discovered the Christ Science or divine laws of Life, Truth, and Love, and named my discovery Christian Science." This discovery has illumined the Ten Commandments, verified the unity of the Decalogue with the gospel of Christ Jesus, restored to religion Truth's healing power, and revealed the Science of God's government, in which Love is the Lawgiver.
This final revelation of the Christ, in Christian Science, renders the Scriptural presentation of God's law completely demonstrable. Our discipleship consists in learning how to unite obedience to the law and the gospel in the healing ministry of Christian Science. In connection with this ministry, our revered Leader gives the following in her definition of "Moses" (ibid., p. 592):"A type of moral law and the demonstration thereof; the proof that, without the gospel,—the union of justice and affection,—there is something spiritually lacking, since justice demands penalties under the law." The Decalogue emphasizes need for obedience to God; the gospel invites spontaneous love for Him. The moral law states a rule of right living; the gospel shows how to demonstrate Life. The moral law prohibits sin; spiritual understanding of God's law destroys sin. Who has not found it easier to be just than to be merciful; to prescribe a penalty in the name of justice than to heal a sinner in demonstration of mercy? As we harmonize these essential unfoldments of God's law in our daily lives, the result is justice, divinely inspired, humanly manifested in individual self-government, less criticism and assertion of human will, more grace and gentleness to happify our homes, our church relations, our business and civic activities.
