Oil and Water

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4, ESV)

Certain things will not mix together. On my boat, I have a filter that is designed to remove water from the gasoline. Basically, it is a simple device. The filter has a bowl on the bottom with a valve. As the gas runs trough the filter, the filter removes any particles that might have gotten into the tank and any water in the system drops to the bottom of the bowl. Before starting the motor, I open the valve at the bottom of the bowl and drain out any water. Generally, I can see a couple drops of water that are in the bottom of the bowl. The reason that I can so clearly see the drops of water is that water and oil do not mix.

I did this experiment in a sermon one day to demonstrate this. I filled a jar with a mixture of oil and water. Everyone could clearly see the division between the two fluids. The oil was on top and the water was on the bottom. There was a clear line. Then I shook up the mixture. It was cloudy and there was no discernable line. I preached about how certain things could not be mixed with the Christian faith. In just a few minutes, as the congregation looked on the oil and water in the jar returned to its completely separated condition with the oil on the top and the water on the bottom.

This is the point that Paul made here. His point is that one cannot live by both the law and grace. To live by the law is to trust the works of the flesh and to live by grace is a life by the Spirit. The two just do not mix.

Anytime a church or believers attempt to mix the two there is agitation. It is a stirring up of things that are incompatible. There are two viewpoints to consider with what Paul is saying.

First, for the unbeliever to mix the law and grace puts a person in an uneasy and hopeless position. To mix the two means that a person is not fully trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. They are trusting in human effort to something in order to be justified before God. In this case, by trusting in one’s self, the person is not saved and can never have any true assurance of the future.

Second, believers can also fall into this trap. They will not lose their salvation, but will live in a miserable and joyless state. The verb, translated as “severed,” katargeo, in the phrase “severed from Christ,” means to be rendered entirely idle from Christ ( (Strong, 1890, p. G2673). This is because the believer has chosen to trust works of the flesh for righteousness and for progressing in the Christian faith rather than a walk by the Spirit. This person is said to have “fallen away from grace” for the same reason. The believer has chosen a doctrine of works plus faith which is not the truth of the gospel. For justification is a work of God’s grace through faith alone.

Churches who introduce a doctrine of works plus grace will introduce a source of agitation in the congregation. Unbelievers who are seeking will attempt to clean up their act in an effort to join Christ’s work. This undermines true grace. Believers also will experience agitation as they try to add legalistic works to salvation in order to experience growth in righteousness.

The problem of mixing incompatible things becomes very evident. I went out on my boat one day and did not drain out the water from the water separator. After I got about 15 minutes out from the dock, the motor conked out. I could get it started, but every time I put it in gear it stopped again. It was not a fun experience. Neither is legalism in the life of a church.