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
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
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!
Kyle