Righteousness is God's gift through faith in Christ. The Christian life can never be based upon our self-righteousness, which is as filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). To the contrary, give up your self-righteousness, and become righteous by faith in Christ alone. Only Jesus Christ can give you perfect righteousness before God. Simply stated, you are righteous by faith in Christ alone.
Every true believer in Christ is accounted righteous before God. Your sins were imputed or accounted to Christ as your sacrifice for sin at the cross. You are righteous by faith alone. There is only one way you can be righteous. It's by faith in Christ alone.
You are righteous in Christ accounted to every believer. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Martin Luther called it the great exchange. Christ takes away every believer's sins and gives us his righteousness.
You are righteous by faith alone in Christ. Upon trusting in Christ, every believer receives righteousness accounted to us by our Savior and Lord. It is known as imputed righteousness. Through faith in Christ, you are accounted righteous before God. It is never your self-righteousness, but the righteousness of God in Christ.
