No one who believes the Bible is God’s word should try to dispute the clear fact that JESUS is our righteousness, holiness, etc. (1 Cor. 1:30; etc.) and he becomes our righteousness through a submissive faith in JESUS (Rom. 3:22; 9:30-10:4; etc). That is basic, but what that doesn’t mean is also significant! Many wrongly think a moment of saving faith means a forever righteous standing before God regardless if one obeys or not. That couldn’t be further from true grace teaching! Paul, who taught the above concepts, also taught about another type of righteousness, related with salvation, of which many people have no clue:
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey–whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Rom 6:16)
Too bad people don’t know Rom. 6:16 like they do John 3:16! It would help clear up some of the problems among evangelicals in our day. According to Rom. 6:16, death is contrasted to righteousness and righteousness there comes from obedience! Since being a slave to obedience leads to righteousness, people who say they sin all the time (and therefore are not obeying) have no Biblical right to claim to be righteous. The shocking thing is, many of the same people (who wrongly think they are Christians) would openly say they are NOT righteous, but instead are sinners – not even realizing that Christians are righteous and sinners are spiritually lost!
Paul taught about a righteousness connected with obedience and which is the opposite of death. In other words, righteousness and eternal life are related, just as sin and spiritual death are.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. (Rom 6:19)
So just as Paul taught JESUS is our righteousness and holiness, he also taught obedience for righteousness and holiness! He then capped it off with this bombshell in our dark day:
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Rom 6:22)
Roman 6:22 implies the new creation in Christ and states holiness comes from being a slave to God and the final result is eternal life! That is pure grace teaching from the original source.
BTW as 1 Cor. 1:30 states Jesus is our righteousness, other Scriptures state YHWH is our righteousness (Jer. 23:6; 33:16). As with other scriptures, that proves Jesus is YHWH.
