God gave Saul another chance to obey Him. But Saul utterly failed and excused himself with an outright lie. The Lord knew Saul's heart. He told Samuel, “It repenteth me that I made Saul king, for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.” Then Samuel went to reprove Saul and said, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
Hebrews 12:6-7 tells us, “Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” Saul went too far and there were no more chances for him. He lost his place in God. This time he acknowledged his sin, but still made excuses for himself while he asked for pardon.
Samuel gave him judgment, “The Lord hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou. Saul had it made, but he lost everything through disobedience. He forgot where he came from and how merciful the Lord was to him. He forgot whom he was serving. And the Lord said, “That's enough.”
In all Israel the Lord found only one person fit for Saul's job: a boy named David. First Samuel 16:13 says that Samuel anointed David in front of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. He was tormented by God's judgment upon him. Because of his sins, the devil got a hold of him, and throughout his life he persecuted David and others who were God's anointed.
This reminds me to always follow God. One concession to sin will lead to another until one becomes a reprobate with no hope of heaven. This is so sad. We need to keep close to the Lord and obey Him. We need to delight in Him for who He is, and not just because of the positions He's given us. We need to keep our eyes on Him and hearken to Him.
Jesus is the one who will judge us on Judgment Day for all that we have done with our lives. Have we given Him our all and obeyed with our lives? Jesus is worth it all. Without Jesus we have nothing but torment.
I have heard more than one Christian say that God forgives our past, present, and future sins. I know for certain that my past sins are forgiven. If I have any sins within me now, I'm convinced God will reveal them to me, so that I might turn from them and live unto Him. I have no desire to sin against God in the future, and there is no scriptural guarantee of future forgiveness, but rather, of God's certain wrath. Second Peter 2:20 tells me that if the Lord saved me, and I return to be entangled in my sins, my latter end is worse than the beginning.
I have read Hebrews 10:26, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” To willfully sin and turn from God after He has been so merciful and kind is like stomping on the Lord and spitting in His face. The wrath of God is in store for those who do that.
I hope I've put the fear of the Lord in you, so that if you are still a sinner now, you will take the time to beg God for mercy. Turn from the sin that so easily besets you and sin no more. I hope God will give you His grace and power to deliver you from the grip of Satan. I hope He will cleanse you and make you an overcomer in this life, fit for heaven. I pray you will always be pleasing to the Lord.