Grace Is The Only Foundation

Our holiness, or sanctification, is as much a gift of God as our justification. Once we have been united to Christ and stand upon his imputed righteousness and holiness, we have, as John Calvin once observed, a foundation upon which we can build a life of piety and holiness toward God (Institutes III.xi.1). Our ongoing conformity to Christ, our growth in holiness, is driven by God’s grace— it is the basis upon which we “die to ourselves” and live more and more unto Christ on a daily basis. In a word, the Bible tells us that the grace of God transforms us and conforms us to the holy image of Christ. Through God’s grace we are enabled, as Paul writes, to “put off the old man,” which belonged to our former manner of life, and “put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph.4:22-24). If we do not recognize that salvation is by God’s grace through faith (Eph.2:1-10), then we will never have a proper foundation from which to grow in our holiness.
by J.V. Fesko

Grace is the only foundation from which we can grow in our holiness as Christians.