Indeed righteousness does not come from keeping the Law. The Law is given for the lawless, to restrain them in their lusts. It can not change a man's heart. But what the Law could not do, Jesus can do. By placing our faith in Jesus for complete deliverance from sin, and persevering until we obtain that deliverance, we have the promise of a righteousness which He has formed in us by way of faith. But once formed, once we are in the likeness of Jesus Himself, once we have ceased from sin (1 Pet 4:1-2), the righteousness is ours as a gift from God, but ours nonetheless.
2Co 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
A covering is only necessary if all things are not yet become new. Once we are conformed to this verse, there is no longer a need for an imputation of righteousness, as the new man is created in the image of God.
Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
That we might be made the rightousness of God in Jesus. If we are the righteousness of God in Jesus, where then does the imputation figure in? It is a stop gap, a safety net, in case one should die before attaining the holy state we are called to.
Personally I would much rather be righteous myself, rather than to be languishing forever under imputed righteousness, which itself is not able to free us from sin. In fact, the way that imputation is often taught is almost an admission that sin is omnipotent over all men, that none can be freed from it. That even God can not free us from it, therefore imputation is essentially an admission of God that Satan beat Him, that God Himself can not free us from it tenacles, therefore He has to save us in such a way that we must continue to serve His enemy Satan. For the most part the doctrine of imputed righteousness as currently taught is a denial of the sovereignty of almighty God. Jesus died to free us from sin, not to make allowances for continued disobedience to God.
Let us not rob the babies by letting them think that God's commandment need not be obeyed. Every one who thinks that God does not require us to be holy and righteous will be lost.
wm