Editorial May 13, 1961 Issue

The Law and the Gospel

Ralph E. Wagers

The gospel of Christ is rooted in the law of God, and its theme is, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). Mary Baker Eddy writes in her Message to The Mother Church for 1902 (p. 8), "The law and the gospel concur, and both will be fulfilled." A few sentences farther down on the page she adds, "The coincidence between the law and the gospel, between the old and the new commandment, confirms the fact that God and Love are one."

Wherever people assembled to hear him—in the synagogue, by the shore of a lake, on a mountainside—Jesus taught the supremacy of God's law in its moral as well as its spiritual aspects. He imparted the good news of the kingdom to all who would listen, and he proved the divine authority of his ministry by "healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people" (Matt. 4:23).

Without the concurrence of the law and the gospel, the gospel would be lacking in authority, and the law would be limited in its effectiveness. But as we live in accord with both we overcome ignorance, fear, and sin, and we enjoy limitless opportunities for productiveness and security.

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"Brain is not mind"
May 13, 1961
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