The Righteousness of God

Romans 3:19-24
3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 
3:20 For no one is declared righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 
3:21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – 
3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 
3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 
3:24 But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

There are two kinds of righteousness contrasted in this passage.

1 - Our own human attempts at righteousness:  This is based on our behavior as judged by the 10 commandments and all the other instructions in God's law in the Old Testament.  The law judges not only outward actions, but also your thoughts and the things on the inside (Matthew 5:21-26).  Our righteousness is non-existent, because we have all sinned repeatedly and continually.

2 - God's righteousness:  God's righteousness is flawless and beautiful.  It has no lack, and no imperfection in it.

So, what is the point?

Part of the good news about Jesus Christ is that when we believe in Him, God gives us His own righteousness as a gift.  See verses 22 again:  the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe.  

This means that we no longer have to depend on our own ability to keep a code of conduct in order to have right-standing with God.  This righteousness from God is given to us freely as a gift that is unrelated to our behavior.  Your behavior and your moral conduct are not part of the equation for receiving this righteousness.  It is only received through faith.  (Note:  I am not negating the value of making good moral choices, I am saying that our morality comes up short every time.)

Romans 4:4-5
4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to obligation. 
4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Your faith in Jesus, not your work, is credited as righteousness.  It is all about who you believe in, not about how well you are able to do everything right.

Romans 5:1-2
5:1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
5:2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory.

If your faith is in Jesus and what He did for you, then you are righteous in God's sight, and you have peace with Him.  He is not against you, He is at peace with you.  This was His idea, and He is the one who initiated the action.  He came to rescue us because we could not rescue ourselves.