1S15-40: Is King Saul’s Life Proof That A Believer Can LOSE His Or Her Salvation?

“But Sh’mu’el said to Sha’ul, ‘I will not go back with you, because you have rejected the word of Adonai, and Adonai has rejected you as king over Israel.'”-1 Samuel 15:26

In the great debate about whether a believer can lose his or her salvation or not, I believe Saul’s life gives us a clear answer.

And that answer is absolutely YES, you can lose your salvation.

Recall that Saul never sought to be king.

In fact, in the beginning, he was quite hesitant and unsure of himself when he was chosen for royalty.

We don’t find any proof that Saul was a phony believer or something.

Or that his faith in the God of Israel was insincere.

He was a full-fledged believer.

But after becoming king, he underwent a horrible transformation.

Rebellion was born in his soul and it spilled over into pure blasphemy.

I imagine it was the same type of defiant attitude that overtook Satan once he began to raise his self-will above God’s will.

At some point, the devil’s rebellion turned to idolatry which resulted in his permanent separation and rejection from God.

The same could be said of Saul.

Both Satan and Saul had crossed some cosmic line in the sand and there was no return.

When Saul asked to have his sin pardoned, he ended up hearing the most terrifying words one could ever hear from their Creator.

“…because you have rejected
the word of Adonai,
and Adonai has rejected
you as king over Israel.”

God through Samuel was essentially telling Saul…

“I don’t know you anymore”.

So I said I’d be connecting some verses in the New Testament to Saul’s life for your learning and also to serve as a warning.

Let’s take a look at two key passages right now.

“He (Yeshua) told them
many things in parables:
‘A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he sowed, some seed
fell alongside the path;
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky patches
where there was not much soil.
It sprouted quickly because
the soil was shallow;
but when the sun had risen,
the young plants were scorched;
and since their roots were not deep,
they dried up.
Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew up and choked the plants.
But others fell into rich
soil and produced grain,
a hundred or sixty or thirty times
as much as had been sown.
Those who have ears, let them hear!”
-Matthew 13:3-9

Looking back on Saul’s life, it’s pretty obvious the seed that fell into King Saul’s soul fell into shallow and rocky soil.

It might have had a quick growth spurt in the beginning, but that quickly died out.

This is what happens to all believers whose faith is shallow.

They wither up and fade away when the pressure from the world gets too intense.

Let’s take a look at our second New Testament reference:

“Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord!’
will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
only those who do what my
Father in heaven wants.
On that Day, many will say to me,
‘Lord, Lord!
Didn’t we prophesy in your name?
Didn’t we expel demons in your name?
Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’
Then I will tell them to their faces,
‘I never knew you!
Get away from me,
you workers of lawlessness!‘”
-Matthew 7:21-23

I think these verses particularly apply to King Saul.

He regularly called on the name of the God of Israel, but he did NOT obey God’s commands.

Or to be more specific, he broke God’s Torah.

So there’s no doubt King Saul was one of those “workers of lawlessness” whom Yeshua called out.