Probation After Death

Probation After Death 4-26-09 Sara Lincoln

‘Probation’ means a time of t____________as we fully prove that God, Life, is in charge of everything. During probation, we are not just waiting and standing still. We are going forward and praying, “Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.”
Ps. 17: 5 If we love God we cannot fail the probation test because God loves us.

When does ‘death’ happen? ________________
What is it that suggests death but cannot make it happen? _______________Paul called it the ‘carnal mind’ that hates God and man. Paul said, “…to be carnally minded is death.”
The opposite of ‘carnal’ is s__________al. Spiritual sense loves God and man.
Paul says, “…to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Rom. 8: 6

A man in the Old Testament named _________ ‘walked with God’ for ________ years. Then did he die? ____ ‘God took him,’ which means ________________ Gen. 5: 22-24

Is there ‘life after death’ as many people say? ________
There is only Life-God expressed as life-man…..now, always, under all circumstances.
God does not die. Man does not die. The human consciousness, your everyday thinking, can hold on to this fact and walk "in the pathway of Truth.” SH 487: 3-6
What does it mean to ‘walk in the pathway of Truth?’ ____________

Is there anything wrong with having a lot of money? ____
Is wealth material or mental/spiritual? _______________
Wealth can be harmful if it makes a person dependent on dollars instead of on _______.
What lines in the Lord’s Prayer show that Christ Jesus depended on God, not wealth,
to meet every human need?

Christ Jesus was the wealthiest person that ever was; he knew that everything God had, he had, by reflection. Luke records Jesus’ parable about “a certain rich man” and “a beggar named Lazarus.” What happened when these two men were on probation after death? Let’s find out what Jesus wants us to learn from this parable.
Luke 16: 19-31
A person depending on wealth instead of God might use the Lord’s Prayer this way:
My Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
My kingdom is here; I’m rich.
I can do my will here on earth. You can do your will in heaven.
I don’t need to ask for my daily bread because I can buy all the bread I want.
I guard my wealth by making sure that debtors who owe me money pay me!
I was smart enough to earn a lot of money and I’m smart enough not to be tempted.
Generous God, you have delivered me from the evil of poverty and dependency.
You have your heavenly kingdom of power and glory, and I’m enjoying my earthly kingdom of wealth and influence. Amen

Some people call death the Day of Judgment when God will punish people for the things they did wrong. Christian Science gives a spiritual concept of ‘judgment day.’ SH 291: 28 How often does judgment day come? ____________. What good things happen? _____


What man in the New Testament refused death when the religious leaders and Roman government tried to kill him: ________ ________. They put his body in a tomb but his thought was not in a dark place. He kept his thought focused on Life, Truth, and Love. In the book of Acts, Luke describes what happened after the resurrection:
Acts 1: 1-4, 9. Let’s tell this as our own story.


After 3 days Jesus walked out of the tomb. Then for ________ days he visited his friends and told them more about the kingdom of God. He continued walking ‘in the pathway of Truth’ and proving that death was not a fact, not a happening. What did he do after his 40 days of traveling around talking to people? ____________
Jesus proved that death didn’t happen. How did this affect his disciples:
SH 34: 18-23

As the Apostle Paul prayed to understand the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, what did he learn? I Cor. 15: 55-57.
He learned that death has no __________and the grave no ___________.

Death is not the big end of everything. Death is just the continuation of a test or probation that happens every day of our lives as we ‘grow in Christian character.’ SH 291: 5
John tells us in 5: 25 that even ‘the dead’ hear the voice of the Christ, and live.

Chapter 2 in Science and Health tells the story of Jesus’ last days and victory over death. What is the name of that chapter? __________________________________
What is the meaning of those two words? _______________
What did Mary Baker Eddy learn from yearning to understand the spiritual meaning of the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension? SH 21: 9
She says we need to
*turn away from_____________ *look towards ________________________
*be___________________ *gain a little _______ _______ in the right direction
*finish our course with ________
Do these steps describe ‘walking in the pathway of Truth’?______

A paragraph in Science and Health says this: 46: 20, especially line 24:
Jesus showed mankind that a probationary state is a p__________________state.
It’s a testing time when we see how much progress we have made, and will be making.

What are you learning twice a year when we study the subject of probation after death?
I think I am learning that ‘death’ is a d__________ of mortal mind and never happens to life or man. Everyone has to ‘rise from the dead,’ reject material sense (death) and practice spiritual sense (life). Here’s how everyone can rise from the dead: SH 90: 24-27