In order that troubled consciences may have full assurance of faith and boldness to enter the favor of God's presence, nothing of the earthly human experience of the believer must be mingled with the righteousness of faith. This insistence that renewal and sanctification must be excluded from the article of justification is not done for the purpose of devaluating the necessity of a holy life. The testimony of the apostles at this point is decisively clear. If we are to live a holy life, we must first have a good conscience by knowing that we are accepted of the Father. By injecting sanctification into the article of righteousness by faith before God, false teachers disturb the consciences of believers and thus poison the springs of holy living.
Good works can only spring from a good conscience.
In this section of his book Berkouwer has, in our judgment, done his most brilliant piece of writing.