Those That Endure - And Ones That Don’t

Are you who you profess to be - really? Real vs Not Real

How do we know if real change has actually occurred in our life?

Back in the day, in sales, we called a person who showed quick change, “a flash in the pan”. Like cooking with wine, it flares up, then it’s gone.

So how do we know if we are really changed? Really a Christian, really a believer? Really who we say we are? Not just, did something happen to us spiritually or otherwise. Not just, did we have a moment, an experience, a prayer, a feeling. But real, actual, lasting change.

Because here’s the thing. You can have a genuine encounter with God and still end up somewhere you never intended to be.

My Bible schedule takes me to Saul. Do you know him?

There’s a question that has followed the story of King Saul for thousands of years. Was Saul actually saved? The reason people keep asking it, the reason it won’t go away, is because Saul didn’t start as a bad guy.

When they introduced him publicly as the new king of Israel, you know where they found him? Humbly hiding among the baggage. That looks like a man who genuinely didn’t think he deserved what God was handing him.

And then God spoke something over Saul that was absolutely real. “Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you with power. You will prophesy with these prophets, and you will be changed into a different man.” (1 Samuel 10:6 NCV)

That’s the verse- “changed into a different man.” Did something change you at one time, and now, it’s not there any more?

The Spirit of God came on Saul with real power. He prophesied, he was moved, something genuine took place in that man. And that is exactly what makes his story so familiar to me.

Here’s the warning buried inside Saul’s life, a person can experience the power of God, feel real conviction, even be used by God, and still never fully surrender their heart.

And if you think that’s only an Old Testament problem, think about Judas Iscariot. He walked with Jesus personally. Watched miracles happen. Was sent out by Jesus himself to preach and heal. And he still betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.

That should rattle our confidence, at least, just a little.

Saul’s drift wasn’t one catastrophic decision. There was no single morning where he woke up and said, I’m done with God. The drift was slow and quiet. Almost undetectable from the inside.

Think about a person who slowly stops working out. Nobody quits on purpose. One week they’re tired. The next week something comes up. A month later they’re telling themselves they’ll get back to it. A year later they’ve completely lost the ground they built, and they can barely remember when it started.

That’s how Saul drifted. Little compromises, small acts of disobedience he talked himself into justifying, protecting his reputation, staying in control. Wanting God’s blessing while quietly resisting God’s authority over his decisions.

Saul kept caring more about what people thought of him than what God required of him. He kept defending himself, blaming others, and minimizing his sin.

When confronted, he always had a reason, always an explanation, always found a way to make his disobedience sound reasonable.

And then there’s King David. David sinned in ways that are honestly hard to read, adultery, deception, he arranged a man’s death to cover his own failure. But when the prophet Nathan looked him in the eye and said, “you are the man”, David didn’t argue or deflect.

He just said: “I have sinned against the Lord.” He was truly broken, open, and offered no negotiation. David’s heart kept returning to God. Saul’s heart kept hardening against him.

And when I read that contrast, it really causes me to ponder and evaluate myself. Because the difference wasn’t talent or gifting or even the severity of the sin. It was the posture of the heart when confronted with the truth.

I feel we have built a version of Christianity in this country that is essentially just a collection of spiritual experiences. Attending church, emotional worship moments, bible knowledge, even ministry activity.

Saying the right things around the right people. And none of that is proof of a surrendered heart. Because Saul had spiritual experiences. And it wasn’t enough.

Jesus told a story about a farmer scattering seed, and one of the soils has always bothered me. The third soil. The seed falls on ground germinates, and actually grows. There is visible, real growth for a season. And then the thorns choke it out.

Jesus explained it himself: “The seed that fell among the thorny weeds is like those who hear God’s teaching, but they let the worries of this life and the love of money crowd out God’s teaching, and so it never grows into mature fruit.” (Matthew 13:22 NCV)

That person heard the Word, responded to it, had something real happen and changed. But the world, the need for comfort, control, reputation, security, lowly crowded God out. Salvation was measured by what God is doing for me, rather than submitting to His authority and salvation.

That’s Saul. And if we’re being honest, that’s the version of Christianity a lot of people in America are actually living right now. Not rejection of God, just gradual replacement of him. Jesus said, “But those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:13 NCV)

The Bible is not saying you have to be perfect. It’s saying you have to be persistent.

Are you persistent? Will you endure to the end? I’m not talking about perfection. Perfection says, I can’t fail or fall. Persistence says, I will keep coming back to God no matter how many times I fall.

David had persistence. Saul had performance. And only one of those actually holds and lasts.

The truth is that a person can look completely spiritual on the outside while drifting steadily on the inside.

You can know Scripture and still harden your heart against it. You can have genuine spiritual gifts and still resist full surrender. You can be in the room where people are worshipping God and be completely alone in your own quiet rebellion. I think we have all been there - it’s real.

Proximity to spiritual things is not the same as intimacy with God.

Saul wasn’t destroyed by one dramatic fall, he was hollowed out slowly, over years, by a long pattern of choosing himself over God, one small decision at a time. Or having an attitude that “religion didn’t serve me well.”

So was Saul saved? Scripture doesn’t give us a clean answer to that. And I’ve come to believe that’s intentional. God didn’t preserve this story so we could sit in judgment of where Saul ended up eternally.

He preserved it so we would ask the harder question. Not, what happened to Saul. But, what is happening in my own heart right now?

Is there a drift you and I have been ignoring? A compromise I keep justifying? Am I pursuing Christ, or just the benefits of being near him?

Because following Jesus is not about having had a spiritual experience somewhere in your past. We like to talk about our past performances. It’s about “continuing” with Christ. Not flawlessly, but faithfully - until the end.

So what’s your heart looking like today?

GOD, I might as well be honest, because you already know. There are times I really wonder how real I am. It’s just true. It’s easy to look at Saul and feel relief, like at least I’m not him. But you didn’t put this story in your Word so I could feel better about myself by comparison. You put it here because you love me enough to show me what slow drift actually looks like before it’s too late. So I ask you to search and reveal. I don’t want to judge, be righteous and all haughty, like I have it together. I want the real thing. I want a heart that keeps coming back to you, for you, and not what you do for me. I ask that you Lord over me and let me follow you out of love and honor. And for anyone reading this today who is somewhere in that quiet drift, who knows something is off but has been too proud or too afraid to say so, would you make yourself so near and so real that the only reasonable response is just to stop running and fall before you. Plain and simple - Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Help my love prove it. IJNIP amen ♥️