House of Faith Ministries

Here Paul uses the word bewitched to inform the Galatians that they have been deceived and that they do not know it.

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Another way to think about it is by looking at people who are hypnotized and make fools of themselves in front of others, and after they are brought out of their hypnotic trance they are not even aware of the foolishness that they committed while under the hypnotic spell.

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Proverbs 21:20 “There is desirable treasure, and oil (anointing) in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it.”

 

The worst part is that once a believer falls under bewitchment, he/she squanders the anointing that God has given them for true discernment.

 

How did the Galatians church turn from being a Spirit filled church into a deceived and bewitched fellowship?

 

Galatians 3:2 “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

 

Paul does not mess around, he goes right after the heart of the issue, and asks them the question of how they received their spiritual anointing originally, for after all that was what they had squandered away.

 

How do we know whether we are being deceived or not?

 

The anointing tells us! If the anointing is present within us, we have nothing to fear, for it is the anointing that always reveals God’s truth which is the antidote for deception. But if the anointing is lacking, then we should know that there is a problem that needs to be dealt with.

 

By definition bewitching means that there is a problem that is present, and for some unexplained reason, nobody can or seems to be able to do anything about it, they just keep putting up with it.

 

The door for a bewitching spirit is opened when an individual or a congregation compromises the Truth of the Word of God!

 

Matthew 7:26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish (one who squanders the anointing) man who built his house on the sand.”

 

In the case of the Galatians church, they started with a great anointing that was brought about by Paul’s preaching to them about God’s grace, as he clearly portrayed to them Jesus Christ crucified for their sins.

 

Then some Jews who wanted all the Gentile believers to be converted to Judaism and follow the law of Moses, preached to the Galatians a different gospel than what Paul had preached to them, a gospel of legalism to which they were now trying to conform.

 

Galatians 3:3 “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (the works of the law)”

 

This does not mean that we do not try to live up to the righteous standards of the perfect Law of God, for this is what Scripture says about that:

 

1 Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”

 

What was at issue here was how does one attain to the righteousness of God, is it through the works of fulfilling the requirements of the Law or by simple faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead?

 

Galatians 3:5 “Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you (for the anointing that works miracles) and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

 

It should have been obvious to all the Jewish believers that the law of Moses never made anyone perfect, on the contrary the law convicted them of sin, so that when Jesus preached to them that salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned or merited, the true Gospel was revealed to them as it had been prophesied in the Old Testament to them:

 

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith.”

 

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold the proud (legalist), his soul in not upright with him; but the just shall live by his faith.”

 

So that the legalism of the day was become a Jewish convert, and we will not persecute you, and that was what got the Galatians into trouble with the apostle Paul, and the reason why the anointing had left them.

 

Galatians 5:11 “And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased.”

 

The offense of the cross to the legalists was that now righteousness before God could be attained by simple faith in the work of salvation that Jesus accomplished for us in the cross.

 

I know that this can be a little confusing to some people, so let me try to explain it in another way.

 

What does it profit a Christian to try to live up to the commandments of God? Let us look at the commandment that says do not steal.

 

If you are a Christian all your sins are forgiven you, but if you steal while a Christian, will the law of the land forgive you also for being a believer? No, you get caught stealing and you ask the Lord to forgive you, He will forgive you according to 1 John 1:9, but you are still going to have to do the time for breaking the laws of man. So that as a Christian if you steal, you will not only lose your freedom, but you will lose your testimony as well.

 

The same can be said about committing adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lying, dishonoring your parents, or whatever other commandments there may be, there are always consequences for breaking God’s Law. Being honest, faithful, trustworthy, responsible and law abiding can get you far in this world with the law and with others, but not with God as far as your salvation is concern.

 

People who abide by the basic principles of the law will fair much better in this world than those who are the law breakers. But if you want God to save you on the merits of your legal standing within God’s Law, you are in deep trouble.

 

Galatians 3:10 “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.’”

 

What does that mean?

 

Psalm 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect…”

 

The Law of the Lord is perfect, and we are not! So that if we wanted to be made perfect before God on the merits of keeping His Law for the purpose of salvation, we would have to keep all of them, all the time.

 

And that is very much impossible since we are all born sinners before we even get old enough to have a chance to do good or bad. That is why the conception of Jesus was not the work of man, but He was conceived by the Spirit of the Living God in the womb of the virgin.

 

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law (to fulfill the Law in order that He may), to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

 

Galatians 3:22 “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

 

1 Peter 1:23 “Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

 

Now here is a final truth that will keep you from becoming bewitched.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”