S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

People have long puzzled over the question of whether or not King Saul was saved; that is, whether or not Saul was forgiven and justified by God and is in heaven today. It's not possible to give a ...

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August 20 2015 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Appelt

The language of the Scriptures is quite clear that Saul was saved. I Samuel 10:6-8 records Samuel’s predictions to Saul. Just as Samuel said, the Spirit came upon Saul. He also prophesied with the prophets, presumably prophesying about the hope of the Messiah and participating in the prophetic testimony, because he too, believed. He also turned into another man meaning the same as the New Testament phrase, “a new creation,” II Corinthians 5:17. Then in I Samuel 10:9, it says God gave him another heart. The evidence is that he had come to know the Lord and was a new person. This means he was saved. 

In contrast, it is said of the sons of Eli, I Samuel 2:12, that they did not know the Lord. They did not believe. It is also interesting that Samuel at first did not know the Lord, but he came to know Him, and he received the word of the Lord, I Samuel 3:7. The language is clear in these instances of who was saved or not. John 17:3 is clear that eternal life comes to those who know God and His Son. In Jeremiah 31:34, as also Hebrews 8:11, the Lord looks forward to the day when there is no need to persuade men to know the Lord for in that day “all shall know Me.” As then, people must know Him today.

Although Saul began with a humble heart, he did not demonstrate a victorious life. Saul never learned to completely live by faith but was instead driven by the flesh. The works of the flesh, such as hatred, jealousy, rebellion, and murder, became evident in his life. Although he was a believer, he made a mess of his life. However, that did not change his eternal position. 

I Chronicles 10:13-14 proves that Saul knew the Lord. He died for the unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord. His sin was against the Lord. This clearly shows Saul had a relationship with the Lord, but that it had been broken. Because he did not inquire of the Lord, as is expected of God’s people, and consulted with a medium for guidance, he was punished by the Lord. God caused him to be put to death for not doing what was right. It was not an action by the Lord upon a godless man or an unbeliever, but a believing man out of step with Him. Furthermore, He removed His mercy from him, I Chronicles 17:13, when he disobeyed the Lord. It was not that God removed the promise of eternal life, but He removed from him His care and provisions as a wayward child of God. God would not answer him when he inquired of the Lord. Even Saul confessed that God had departed from him and did not answer him anymore, “neither by prophets nor by dreams,” I Samuel 28:6, 15. 

Saul was a saved man, but he never attained to the faithful as those recorded in Hebrews 11.

December 19 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report