You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?

Galatians 3:1-2 (NKJV)

When the Galatians began to stray from the gospel, the Apostle Paul was perplexed because he couldn't understand their behaviour of reverting to the law despite the fact that they clearly understood the gospel and the significance of Christ's crucifixion.

The Galatians had been experiencing God's supernatural grace through the Holy Spirit in a variety of ways since hearing and believing the truth of God's grace. Instead of continuing to rely on the Spirit to produce what only He can, they were now attempting to create supernatural manifestations through their own efforts. This prompts Paul to remark, "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?”

The Greek word for "bewitched" is baskainō which means "to fall under a spell". In the context of this verse, the Galatians were foolishly "spellbound" by the Judaizers to give up the purity of the gospel for a mixture of grace and legalism (which is no gospel at all). If you depart from the truth of the gospel, you will no longer see God as a loving Father to whom you can relate, but rather as a harsh taskmaster whom you must constantly appease and placate.

When Paul referred to them as "foolish Galatians," he was not implying that they lacked intellectual ability, but rather that they lacked spiritual discernment. This is because they did not examine the Judaizers' false teachings in light of Christ's finished work. As a result, the Galatians were duped into hypocrisy, error, and self-righteousness.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not a lack of preaching of grace that causes people to drift away from God. As seen in the Galatian church, it is a lack of understanding of God's grace that causes fleshly behaviour. Don't be like the Galatians, trading away your relationship with God to find validation in super-strict behaviour or super-spiritual experiences that aren't grounded in Christ's incredible gospel.

Clearly, God is concerned with your behaviour. However, God does not want you to have a self-imposed standard of excellence, but rather a behaviour that reflects the transforming truth of your identity in Christ. You must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to reveal more and more about your new life in Christ to you.