Righteousness

The Letters to the churches are a great place to read and really grow in the Lord. Romans 3:21-25 says,
"BUT NOW a righteousness from God, apart from the law, HAS BEEN made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to ALL WHO BELIEVE. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are JUSTIFIED FREELY by His grace through the redemption that came BY CHRIST JESUS. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in HIS BLOOD."
It goes on with good things, but I think this is enough to show that Now a righteousness has been (past tense) made known to all who believe in Jesus through faith in His blood. The only way we can become righteous is through faith in His blood. Works do not make us more righteous, it says we are justified freely. We can do nothing to make ourselves more or less righteous. We can only accept something done for us. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (To much emphasis has been on this verse, and not enough on the glory surrounding it) so we fall short on our own, BUT we are REDEEMED FREELY through JESUS CHRIST. YAY. Through Christ's blood we are made holy and righteous. We do not deserve it, and we both (us and God) know that, but because of His great love for us, He died for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8). We are righteous because of Jesus! Isn't that glorious? Isn't that amazing? (Notable verses - Romans 5:17)
Romans 6 goes through the fact that we are now dead to sin. When we accepted Jesus our sinful nature died. We have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (verse 18). Romans 7 starts with an illustration about marraige showing how the husband (sinful nature) died and now the bride was legally allowed to marry another (we are legally able to accept righteousness from God). Verse 5 - For we WERE controlled by the sinful nature... Verse 6 BUT NOW, by dying to once bound us, we have been released from the law. Verses 7-25 talks of Paul under the law, or his life before Jesus, and how (verse 25) he was bound in the law of sin and death. In chapter 8 he states that "Therefore, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life SET ME FREE FROM the law of sin and death. (8:1-2). Also read Romans 8:9-11. We are now hidden is Christ, the firstborn of new creations (8:29). Firstborn meaning more would be born. We are New Creations (2 Cor 5:17). We are sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:15-16). It says that we are more than conquerers through Jesus (Romans 8:37).
As sons and daughters of God we can come boldly to the throneroom in seeking answers. Ephesians 2:4-10 wraps this up nicely, "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we WERE (past) dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God RAISED US UP WITH CHRIST JESUS AND SEATED US WITH HIM IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS IN CHRIST JESUS, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is a gift from God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."