Why I Love the Message of Grace

It was John Newton, the former slave trader and the author of “Amazing Grace,” who penned the famous words, “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” I can relate to that personally, and that’s one reason I’m so jealous for the unadulterated grace of God, for grace without mixture, grace without leaven, grace without exaggeration.

On Dec. 17, 1971, the revelation of God’s love so flooded my heart that I told the Lord I would never put a needle in my arm again, and I was free from that moment on. No more heroin. No more speed. No more addiction to the needle. No more hallucinogenic drugs. Jesus truly delivered me!

For the previous six weeks there had been a tremendous battle in my soul—beginning Nov. 12, 1971, when I first believed that Jesus died for my sins, which was a major breakthrough for a 16 year-old, rebellious, proud, Jewish rock drummer. Prior to that, I had mocked the message of the gospel and boasted about my sin, but as the believers in a little Italian Pentecostal Church in Queens, N.Y. prayed for me, the Holy Spirit began to convict me (although I had no idea they were praying for me), and I knew something was terribly wrong with my life.

Then, after the light went on in my heart in November, I wrestled with God, shooting heroin one day and going to church the next, until that memorable service on Dec. 17. As the pastor’s wife played the piano and we sang the old hymns—hymns which sounded like little ditties to me compared to the Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix music I listened to day and night—I became overwhelmed by the joy of the Lord and received a dramatic revelation.

I saw myself filthy from head to toe, and then I saw myself washed cleaned with the blood of Jesus and clothed with beautiful white robes, only to go back and play in the mud. I was spurning God’s love, a love that was poured out on me when I was a filthy, godless sinner. I was mocking the blood of Jesus, blood that was shed for me when I was stealing money from my own father and bragging about how deceitful I could be.

At that moment, God’s goodness exposed my badness, and I surrendered my life to the Lord and said goodbye to the life I had been living. And it was not hard to make the radical break. What a Savior!

That was more than 41 years ago, and I can honestly say that I have experienced more of God’s grace as a believer than as a lost sinner. Every day of my life, I am cleansed from the defilement of the world by the blood of Jesus, even as I walk in the light (see 1 John 1:7). And when I have disappointed the Lord and grieved His Spirit (see Eph. 4:30), the moment I turn to him in repentance, he forgives and forgets my sins (see Mic. 7:17-19). What a gracious God!

But there’s still more. Every day of my life, I am empowered to fulfill the righteous requirements of the law by God’s grace (see Rom. 8:1-4; Titus 2:11-15). As Pastor David Wilkerson said, “According to Paul, we are not walking in grace until we have broken from worldly corruptions. Unless we are endeavoring through the power of the Holy Spirit to lead godly and righteous lives ... we do not know God’s grace.”

And that’s why I’m so jealous for the true message of grace. There are heretical “grace” teachers who exaggerate God’s grace, claiming that everyone will be saved in the end. And there are sincere, godly hyper-grace preachers who add mixture to God’s grace, claiming that if you ask God to forgive you when you sin as a believer, you are committing the sin of unbelief (really!).

Some of these teachers will even tell you exactly how you should express yourself to God, suggesting the right words to use to be sure you don’t say, “Father, forgive me,” since hyper-grace teachers believe the moment you get saved, God pronounces your future sins forgiven along with your past and present sins.

To me, when a preacher tells me what words to use in prayer and tells me it’s a sin to ask God to forgive me, he is mixing grace with legalism, forgetting the fact that we have a wonderful, intimate relationship with our heavenly Father who is more concerned with the condition of our hearts than with our religious formulas. And although my hyper-grace colleagues emphasize that God is always happy with us and pleased with us, as a righteous child of the Father, I have no problem saying, “Lord, I’m sorry for displeasing you. Wash me clean with the blood of Jesus, and forgive me.”

And when I say those words to the Lord, the blood that was shed on the cross is applied afresh to my heart, and that’s one reason why I live in 24/7 assurance of the Father’s love for me, condemnation free (always, without exception, for decades), eager to find out what pleases the Lord (see Eph. 5:10).

The hyper-grace message, which tells me that nothing I do will ever displease the Lord, which claims that I’m committing the sin of unbelief if I ask Abba to forgive me, and which is so quick to brand those outside of its camp as “law-keepers” and “Pharisees,” pollutes something very dear to my heart, and that’s why I continue to contend for grace without mixture.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

Erroneous Teaching Disguised As Grace

A strange teaching has crept into the Church, teaching that you are totally depraved, so much so that even after you have been Born Again, you are totally helpless in obeying God.

This erroneous teaching is disguised as 'Grace' because it departs from the 'Grace' taught in the Bible. It actually nullifies the true Grace of God by stating that you have to perpetually look back at Calvary Cross for your justification. The popular understanding is that since Jesus died for all your sins (past, present and future), you therefore have no need to confess or repent of any sins any more.

Some, who receive such teaching, are glad that they do not need to be accountable for any of their present or future sins and live with gratitude. They still make mistakes and so on, but generally they live a holy life. Chances are these people have been living under such heavy doses of guilt teachings meted out to them in their former churches. Therefore, this type of 'Grace' message is a welcome relief. One lady told me that for the first time, she has been truly liberated.

Others, on the other hand, take the liberty in this doctrine and live carelessly. The logic is that "since I am no longer accountable for my present or future sins, then I can live however I like, as long as I 'believe' that Christ is doing the obeying for me".

The first group lives in gratitude but not a life empowerd by the grace of God. The idea is "I am happy that I need to do nothing to please God because God is never pleased with what I do any way. He is only pleased with the works of Christ. As I am not an ungrateful person and so I live a life of gratitude."

The second group lives in ingratitude, thinking that the grace of God should be large enough to encompass their ingratitude and unfaithfulness. They are considered 'disciples of Christ' because Christ is obeying for them and they never need to obey any more. Any way, even if they were to obey, God will not consider their obedience as anything worthwhile to look at... because it is 'filthy rag'.

This type of belief is called Progressive Justification. It means that you are still depraved and still living under the Law. That is why you need Christ to obey for you all the time. It is not a Grace that sets you free that you can now be able to bear fruits and be responsible for your life living within the powerful Grace of God. It is definitely not the life described by our Lord in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

The Bible says that you have been justified once and for all. The finished work of Christ at Calvary is effective enough to justify you before God. You do not need to be justified again and again. You are free! He has set you free from the Law. You do not need to go back to the Gospel again and again. The Gospel or Good News is for those who do not know Christ. It is not for you because you have already received the Good News.

The process of sanctification is the result of that one-time justification at Calvary. It is your growing process in the grace of God. You grow daily to become more and more like Christ! This is called 'Discipleship'! It is spiritual growth that relies upon the Holy Spirit. Remember, Jesus gave you the Holy Spirit for a reason. The Holy Spirit is God's grace extended to help you in the process of sanctification. Read Ephesians 4 and it will become clear that after you have been saved, you still need the instruction for Christian living.

God has accepted and saved you as who you were and He is now transforming you to become like His Son, Jesus Christ. Daily, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, help you to grow stronger in faith, holiness and Christian character.

And finally, take heed to the instruction given by the Apostle Peter:
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
2 Peter 3:17 -18

Article by Albert Kang

Justified Without A Cause

 

Justified Without A Cause

Cornelius R. Stam

God tells us in His Word that believers are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). The word “freely,” here, does not mean “without cost,” but “without cause.” The same original word is so translated in John 15:25, where we find the words of Christ: “They hated Me without a cause.”

Thus sinners hated Christ “without a cause,” yet God justifies sinners “without a cause.”How can this be? Let’s see:

What had Christ done to earn the enmity of men? Nothing whatever. He had been kind and good, had helped those in distress, had healed their sick, had made the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the lame to leap for joy. Why, then, did they hate Him: The Bible says they hated Him “without a cause, i.e., without any cause in Him. The cause of their hatred lay in their own evil hearts.

But on the other hand, what have sinners done to merit justification before God? Again the answer is: Nothing whatever. They have broken His commandments every day, lying, stealing, and committing hundreds of other sins. Yet in love God gave His Son to die for them on Calvary “that He might be just and [at the same time] the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). He loves and justifies believers “without a cause”, i.e., without any cause in them. The cause is to be found in His own compassionate heart, for “GOD IS LOVE.”

Thus those who trust in Christ, who died for our sins, are justified without a cause, by God’s grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.


“God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

“By this man is preached…the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which He could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).

Not Everything Under My Control

I have this constant fear about giving the impression that as a pastor, I have everything under control. I am afraid that those who hear me preached might think that I have such a connection to heaven so much so that I have all the answers. Nothing is further from the truth. 

There are days when my faith got shaken. Time and time again, I am placed in a waiting mode that I wonder what God is going to do. Yes, I do get impatient with God and if I had my way, I would have taken off running. But I have learned that it would be absolutely foolish and futile if I were to do that. 

Like every child of God, I am making my fair shares of mistakes, using my fair shares of doubt, and letting the Lord down more regularly than I like. However, one thing I lean heavily upon, in spite of my weakness, is the abundance of God's grace and mercy. His hands of restoration are always there to put me back on my feet whenever I cry out to Him. I am forever grateful that when I am weak, I have One who is strong. Thank you, Jesus, for loving me, in spite of me. 

Pastor Albert Kang

The Toughest Sermon To Prepare

Preparing a sermon is easy and yet it is not. It's easy because the Holy Spirit is actively helping me to prepare it. It is tough, because the same Holy Spirit is convicting me of the very things I would be admonishing others to do or not to do.

For example, the sermon that I preached last Sunday at High Praise Church. After the service, most comments from the congregation were good because it spoke to their hearts. Even Grace said it was a good sermon because it ministered to her. However, my dear wife knew the 'anguish of soul' that I had to go through just to get this sermon out. Let me explain - the sermon was about becoming a Grace Giver. 

Apparently, the topic was not a problem because having been a recipient of God's grace,it should be an easy task to produce an acceptable sermon. As the sermon preparation progressed, my heart became heavier and heavier. The Holy Spirit was not telling me what to say to the congregation but was dealing with the discrepancies in my own life. Every word that I penned became sharp arrow of conviction. There were so many long pauses for prayer in between the preparation, so much so, that it took a much longer time to complete the sermon.

Being a recipient of God's grace many times over, I should be the most gracious person. The Holy Spirit showed that it was not the case - I was seldom as gracious as I should be. In many relational encounters, my inner spirit was more adversarial and not at all loving. It was warlike and lacked the ingredients for peace. It was only through self-control, social graces and the ability to mask this innate struggle that made me looked and sounded like a peace-loving person. The Holy Spirit had nothing to do with pretense and fake stuffs. 

The danger of having pretended for a long time was that I somehow thought the pretense was the genuine product. It was like a story that I heard in Cambodia about the Cambodians drinking fake whisky of a particular brand for so many years that when the real whisky arrived, they rejected it. 

This was not the first time that the Holy Spirit used my own sermons to convict me of sins or mistakes in my life. I remember one occasion that I had to pull off the highway so that I could weep and repent. It happened after listening to the recording of my own sermon about the difference between a 'driven person' and a 'called person'. King Saul was such a 'driven' man that he failed in fulfilling his call to be the leader of Israel. David, on the hand, was a 'called' man who took his call seriously. Even though he made many mistakes and committed serious sins, he always returned to His God for help. Acknowledgement and repentance were the first steps David took to receive forgiveness and then to his spiritual recovery. Driving that drive, the Holy Spirit revealed that my 'driven' life had to be replaced. I had wanted my church to become a mega-church that I stopped at nothing to achieve it. The Lord was not happy about aht and He wanted me to repent of that. Alone in the car, by the side of a busy highway, I sought His forgiveness.

It was because of God's grace that He allowed the Holy Spirit to reveal the present discrepancy. God had nothing to do with my pretense and wanted to remove the false display of peaceful attitude, intentions and motives. They had to be genuine or God could not do a deeper work in my life. 

I should not live a lie any more. This hypocrisy had to be overwhelmed by truth. His grace and mercy provided that revelation of truth which made it impossible for me to hide behind any excuses. The light of His loving truth was powerful. It shone through every dark corner of hypocrisy and self-deception. 

It was humbling but not humiliating. It was redeeming and not destructive. It a surrendering of one's will to the One whose will provides a much better proposition. It was a confession unto the grace of God and not the judgement of God. 

He had reprimanded me so that I could be a better servant. He had accepted me as who I was when He saved me but now He is changing me to be like His Son. The conviction was not for the purpose of crushing my spirit but transforming it. 

This overpowering experience does not mean that the Holy Spirit is done with me. No, He is not leaving me alone. Sad would be that day if He would no longer speak because I no longer have the capacity to listen. As my relationship with Him is dynamic, He will continue to guide, correct and adjust me on my pilgrimage. The journey of being more like Christ continues. 

The grace provided is also dynamic and it will carry me through. This is a good feeling. I know that my Redeemer cares enough to teach and guide me. I am thankful that my experience of His grace is not just at the point of my salvation but an ongoing experience that brings joy of transformation. 

"Dear friends, we are already God's children, but He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we know that we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is." (1 John 3:2)

Rev Albert Kang
20 August 2012

The God Who Refuses To Let You Die!

Are you looking for the meaning of life? Are you suffering from some major mistakes? Are you ashamed of what you had done? Is your past haunting you?

Type 51 Chinese Pistol

You are looking at the blog of a man who had been through all these. I was so embarrassed by my mistakes and sins that I had wanted to shoot myself in the head with a Chinese pistol.


After my pastoral ministry and marriage failed, I hid in Cambodia. The shame was unbearable. One night, I took out the Chinese pistol that I bought and put it to my head. A voice said that it would be better to end it all. I felt that not only the whole Christian community had condemned me... and worse than that, I felt that even God did not want me any more.


I had messed up and deserved to die! That voice kept ringing in my ears, pestering and pushing me into the deep darkness of that terrible night. Before I could pull the trigger, another louder voice suddenly thundered through the sound of my sobbing. That voice was loud but gentle. That voice said that God had not given up on me if I were not to give up on God.


The presence of God was suddenly in that room. When we hit bottom and have nowhere else to go, we can always be assured that God will be there. When all our friends and loved ones reject us, we can be assured that God would always be our comfort and joy.


Perhaps you can identify with me. You may have done things that you are really ashamed of. Perhaps you are living in fear that your dirty little secret might one day pop up and destroy your reputation and life. You may have been part of a good Church but no longer attending because you feel that God may not tolerate someone like you. You may feel that you are beyond hope.


If you feel that way, you are not the first. The Bible has many stories of people who messed up. One distinct difference is that they refused to stay messed up. They called upon God and rose up to take on new challenges. They understood the mercy and grace of God; they got back on the path of recovery. 


We may stumble and fall. We may be so ashamed of our mistakes and sins that we just want to wallow in our failure. We just don't want to try any more. Then God would come in the person of Jesus Christ who lovingly coax us on. With His nail-scarred hands, He would pick us up and put us on our feet again. God is the God of second, third, fourth, fifth... hundredth chance. As long as you still have life, the game is not over yet. 


Rev Albert Kang

A Beautiful Modern Parable of Grace

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

The day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him.

"How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time"

"Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it."

Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls.

Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?"

Cynthia said, "Yes"

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

"Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten.. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe, do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship..

When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?"

Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Dr.. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Dr.. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Sternly, Jenny said, "No."

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?"

Steve did ten. Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO!

Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?"

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut."

Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut."

"Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?"

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason,bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room..

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?"

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?"

Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not.

When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade.

Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes."

"Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said,"And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, pleaded to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life.

And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. "

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

"Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are preached in words."

Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid."

"Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Author Unknown 
Source: Various Internet sites; earliest found was at www.edevotions.org. 

Sanctification and the Grace of God

Self-righteousness is trying to maintain moral behavior by fear and guilt. Nothing sanctifies us more effectively than the application of the pure grace of God. 

To become like Christ, we need the help of Christ. Knowing how much He loves us even to the point of tolerating (not accepting) our disobedience, we receive the grace to live a life of obedience and harmony with His will.

Albert Kang 

-----------------------

SET APARTSanctification (Gk.. hagiasmos) means “to set apart.” In English we use the words ’holy’ and ‘saint.’ There are three aspects to sanctification; 

(1) Positional sanctification

(2) Experiential sanctification

(3) Ultimate sanctification

That is to say, we are sanctified, being sanctified, and will be sanctified. Positional sanctification and Ultimate sanctification are something that God alone does for us. But Experiential sanctification requires our active participation with the Holy Spirit to become more and more like Christ in our daily lives.

Positional sanctification has to do with our standing before God based on what Christ did for us. All those who are truly born again believers are called “saints” and St. Paul refers to believers as saints in many of his epistles. (see Romans 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:1). Positional sanctification is achieved through the once-for-all death of Christ (Heb. 10:10, 14, 29).

Experiential sanctification has to do with our experience in daily life. St. Paul desired the believers in Thessalonica to be completely sanctified in their experience as can be noted in First Thess. 5:23. St. Peter writes to believers, drawing from the Old Testament Leviticus 19:2, to be holy (First Peter 1:16). As a believer grows in his or her walk with the LORD, experiential sanctification takes place (Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1-2) and desires change. Old, destructive patterns stop and are replaced with God honoring choices on a daily basis and often suffering is involved (see Philippians 3:8-11). Experiential sanctification cannot take place without the Word of God (John 17:17; Psalm 119:9-16) and it is both God and the believer who have an active part in experiential sanctification (Phil 2:12-13).

Ultimate sanctification has to do with the future and the final transformation of the Christian into the likeness of Christ. It deals with the believers being presented the LORD without blemish (Eph. 5:26-27).

(Some of the above is from Moody Handbook of Theology; Nelson Study Bible NKJV; and inspired by the sermon of Dr. Richard Mayhue of the Master’s Seminary http://www.tms.edu/

Source:http://earlymorningrainbiblestudy.blogspot.com/2010/09/set-apart.html