THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD

1. Why is there such a period? Dr. Robert Picirilli made a statement, during the council meeting on the backslider question in 1969, which is applicable here. He said, “Basically, the point is that we must not word our doctrine so as to give the impression God delights to catch his sinning child off base and ‘tag him out.’ No, for while God’s heart is surely broken when His child sins, He still loves that child and chastisement is a sign of that love. When chastisement has fulfilled its ultimate objective, the sinning child will have repented and been restored to fellowship, or else he will have left his salvation and ceased to be a child of God.” God has provided this period of time to give each rebellious backslider a chance to change his rebellious heart. During this time, God uses the conviction of the Holy Spirit in an effort to change his attitude of heart before total loss of faith occurs.

c. His faith and union with Christ are greatly suppressed by his attitude of heart, but they are not lost yet, but in danger. His faith does function in one or more ways, other than in Christ as propitiation. It may be only a small exercising of faith over a long period of time.

b. The person’s attitude of heart ends its rebellion and exercises its faith in Christ as propitiation. This allows the blood of Christ to cleanse the person’s heart and blot out his iniquity (Psalm 51:9, 10). However, the record book remains open and will not be balanced and closed until apostasy or death occurs.

Since God’s sovereignty plan is not to allow His justice attribute to balance a person’s record book until apostasy or death, the person is not judged saved or lost. As far as God’s justice is concerned, the person is in the same condition, justified as in the first balancing at salvation, until the second and final balancing at death or apostasy. If at any time during the probationary period the book on the persons soul was brought up to date it would be stamped UNJUSTIFIED (since the attitude of heart has not allowed his faith to claim Christ as propitiation for his sins). The backslider has faith, but it is dangerously damaged and distorted by the rebellious attitude of heart. The backslider (one who has not merely slipped back on
God but has turned against Him) cannot function fully as a Christian. He still has some faith left. He is not fully an apostate yet. When the heart attitude suppresses faith’s exercise in Christ as propitiation, the person deadens the chief characteristic pathway to grace that keeps him secure as a child of God. The only was the backslider can overcome his damaged character is by appropriating Christ’s blood and grace by exercising his faith. James teaches faith without works becomes dead.

Dr. O’Donnell wrote in his booklet, The Backslider: Dead or Dying?, using the parable in Luke 12:14-48 to illustrate the final destiny of the backslider. Dr. O’Donnell writes, “Death in such an impenitent state is merely evidence that one has maintained his obstinacy to the point of being an apostate.” The reader must remember that God’s sovereignty controls the death of men. Thus, God will never be caught with the problem of condemning a man who has faith and habitual sin. When a person dies in the impenitent state it is very apparent that he dies as an apostate.

THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD

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