Probation?
April 28, 2002
Dear Friends,
Are you on probation? This may sound like a strange question to some, but to others they may quickly nod their heads in the affirmative. Probation, in religious terms, is meant to be the period between coming into Christ by belief and baptism and becoming immortal in God’s Kingdom. As John Thomas wrote in Elpis Israel, “Probation, then, is the indispensable ordeal, to which every man is subjected in the providence of God, before he is accepted as ‘fit for the Master’s use’”.
Frankly, I am not a big fan of the term “probation.” The first reason for this is that it is not a Biblical phrase. It occurs as frequently in the Bible as the phrase “immortal soul” (in other words, never!). Just because the term is not in the Bible does not make it a bad term, but it doesn’t make it a good one either.
Another reason I don’t use the term is that it has such a negative connotation. It does for the concept of life in Christ what “the old ball and chain” does for the institution of marriage. In our society, who is on probation? Answer: criminals. Although the term was never meant to convey the idea of “criminals in Christ” who are under the watchful eye of the probation officer; nevertheless, one of the main definitions in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is “the action of suspending the sentence of a convicted offender and giving the offender freedom during good behavior under the supervision of a probation officer.” This may ring true to some in their understanding, but to me the idea of probation is entirely out of keeping with the latter half of Romans 8 where Paul states “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” God and Jesus are not watching over us to see if we make a mistake, they are helping us even when we are given trials to succeed. It is a certainty that we won’t succeed without their help. Failure is even more certain if they are in some odd way pitted against us.
We are not attempting to “make a man an offender for a word.” (Is. 29:21) What is behind a word is more important than the word itself. There is no doubt that God did prove the children of Israel to see what they would do. “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.” (Deut. 8:2) This concept as a type and shadow no doubt holds meaning for us also. God is testing us today to know what is in our hearts just like them. However, those Israelites whose attitudes reflected a belief in God as their strength and defender such as Joshua and Caleb faired much better than those who had a negative concepts of their trials in the wilderness. Those who depended on their own might or who said “because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us” (Deut. 1:27) did not pass the test. Their concept of God was faulty and their attitudes and actions reflected it.
If we can reconcile the use of the word “probation” or phrase “probationary walk” with a God who “who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)” (Eph 2) and “who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ”, then let us by all means continue to use the word. If we cannot, then let us open our Bibles and find a phrase more in keeping with this “heavenly calling.” (Heb. 3:1)
Have a great week!
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