Paul insists that until the coming of Christ, all people were enslaved to sin. There was no way out of the enslavement. So the Law was given as an instruction and a discipline to prepare for the coming of the Lord. To those baptised in the faith, Jesus grants freedom and new life. An important part of this freedom is cancelling all the ways in which people are separated from one another. In Christ, there is no Greek or Jew, male or female, slave or free - there is only Christ.

Unfortunately, Christians have not lived this out very well over the centuries. God has given us the gift of freedom, but we must claim it.Someone in the crowd tried to flatter Jesus by calling down a blessing upon Him. Jesus insisted that the truly blessed person hears the Word of God and obeys it.

The second part is most important; many hear but do nothing or make a half-hearted attempt. Hearing and doing go together and cannot be separated if we truly want to enter the kingdom of God. Let us try each day to do the best we can according to our understanding and circumstances.