God always will regard the individual as being righteous who believes and obeys God as God is bringing Christ into prominence, into His central position in the heavens and on the earth.

The end result of bringing Christ into the center of everything is the total destruction of the works of the devil, and righteous personality and behavior on the part of all of God's creatures. Such righteousness of personality and conduct is the product of the Divine program of redemption that works solely through the authority and power that God has given to Christ.

Paul warns us that we are not to attempt to obtain or increase our righteousness by adding the works of the Law of Moses, such as circumcision, to our faith in Christ.

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21)

Does that mean, therefore, that we can continue to behave in the sins of the flesh because we are "saved by grace"?

Not at all, for being "saved by grace" means we are dead to our old sinful and rebellious behavior and Christ is living His Life in us.

If we are in Christ we are walking in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

If we are walking in newness of life, if Christ is dwelling in us and growing in us, then four things are true:

We now are without blame in the sight of God.

We shall be judged to be not guilty in the coming Day of Judgment.

We are growing in our love of righteousness and in our ability to behave righteously.

In the Day of Christ we shall be given increased power to behave righteously, in fact, to rule with the crown and sceptre that enforce righteousness upon mankind (Hebrews 1:8; Revelation 2:26,27).

After rehearsing his background as a Pharisee, Paul exclaimed:

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (Philippians 3:8,9)

Then Paul explains what it means to live in the righteousness that is by the faith of Christ:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10)

To stand in the grace of God, receiving the righteousness that comes by faith in Christ, means to come to the full personal knowledge of Christ; to experience in ourselves the incorruptible power of His resurrection from the dead; to be pressed into full conformity to the mold of His death on the cross. Our old life is dying and Christ is living in us.

This is the true Christian life, the true grace of God wherein the elect stand. We stand by faith in the marvelous grace of being held blameless in the sight of the Lord God of Heaven. Both assigned righteousness and an ever-increasing righteous behavior are our eternal possession because Christ is dwelling in us and growing in us. (from Kingdom Concepts)