“Therefore, being justified by faith, (made righteous), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1. Also, Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by Grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Notice that there is no work or works, that you or I could do to merit our salvation.
I recall a story of a young girl that was a prostitute for years.
She was lonely, miserable, full of shame. One day, someone shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with her and she knelt there and asked the Lord Jesus to come into her heart to wash all her sin away. She simply told God that she was sorry for all of her sin and asked Jesus to come into her life and for Him to forgive her. He did, and she was saved. She passed right there, from death to life; and she did not do any ‘works’ other than by faith, she trusted in Christ. She became a devoted follower of Jesus. The minister who led her to Christ officiated at her wedding years later, and she was beautiful - and she was the righteousness of God
