Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

The book of Galatians is about this topic: Is one justified by faith or by works of the Law? Paul was writing to Jews who had become Christians. The Jews were used to the Law of Moses. It was a Law given to them by God. They found it so hard to simply dismiss the Law of Moses and embrace the Faith system of justification. They wanted to keep the Law while embracing Christ. They also insisted the Gentile Christians to keep the Law. Paul wrote this epistle to correct them. In this chapter, Paul begins with a sharp reproof of the Galatians for being so easily seduced by the arts of cunning men and be led astray from the glorious doctrine of justification by faith: “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (v.1). Who hath bewitched you – Bewitched means to cast a spell over, to fascinate, to enchant, to charm, and to seduce. One who has been bewitched is completely controlled by something or someone. It’s like someone has cast a spell on him. What happen to the person who has been bewitched? He would have been misled into doing or believing something awfully wrong. Paul said the Galatians were under a spell. Their thinking was so clouded it was unlike them. Paul was saying: “You Galatians are not like this. You are intelligent. You can discern truth and error. What has happened to you?” The Galatians were not the only people in this world who had been bewitched. Many in this world have been bewitched. Followers of a cult have been bewitched. Their fascination is on just one person; normally its founder. They are controlled by that person. Whatever things he does is always right; even if he molests and rapes the female followers. They are under his spell. Samson was bewitched by a woman called Delilah (Judges 16). There were so many signs indicating she wanted to betray him to the Philistines. Samson couldn’t see the signs. To us, those signs are so obvious. This is because we are not bewitched by Delilah. But, a lot of men have been bewitched by other women. Many left their wives for some other women. Christ warns us about casting our eyes of someone other than our spouses: “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Don’t be bewitched by an unworthy woman or man. One can be bewitched by a thing. Today, the most bewitching thing is the handphone. Many just cannot live without it. How many hours do you spend on your handphone each day? That gadget is fascinating, captivating, and controlling our lives. I once told my family I wanted to cancel my handphone line. I wanted to show them I can carry on with life without the handphone. They can call me on the fixed line. They said NOooooo! Christ wants us to live a self-controlled life and not a life controlled by a gadget: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11, 12). Don’t be bewitched by an electronic gadget! Paul still asks: “Who hath bewitched you?” It can be a person or a thing. Don’t let your life be controlled by a person or a thing; be a slave to Christ and not to a person or a thing. Have the mind of Paul: “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Bewitched by Christ instead!