In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught concerning righteousness and how to obtain it. He said, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6: 33). It is not our own righteousness that will save us or bring us to Christ, rather His righteousness which lives inside us.
The scriptures are full of examples. The Pauline epistles emphasize this repeatedly.
Paul uses the symbolism of baptism and the concept that we are buried with Jesus unto His death that we may have new life in Him. In Romans he teaches,
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection" (Romans 6: 3-5).
We are not only baptized unto a new life, but the promise of a glorious resurrection is also implicit. It's wonderful and comforting to gain a testimony of the resurrection, but the promises do not end here. We are promised the same kind of resurrection as the Savior's with the same degree of glory, if we abide the law pertaining to that kingdom (see D&C 88: 20-24).
Paul puts a different twist on this idea in an epistle to the Corinthians as he explains, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5: 17).
In Galatians Paul speaks of "putting on Christ." It's the other half of the Book of Mormon concept taught by King Benjamin as he quotes an angelic messenger. It speaks of "putting off the natural man" (see Mosiah 3: 19). It is meaningful that the process of "becoming a saint," expounded in the same verse, is accomplished through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In Galatians it says, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3: 27).
The idea of "putting on Christ" has an interesting Greek origin. The words "put on" come from the Greek word enduo, where we get the English word endowment. It means to sink into clothing, and in this case, it's sacred clothing. Closely related is the Old Testament Hebrew concept of the word Atonement originating from the Hebrew word kaphar, meaning to coat or cover. I have provided links below for both of these words.
Click here for kaphar (Atonement)
Click here for enduo (put on or clothe)
Really, it's almost like changing clothes. We take off the clothes of the natural man (or woman) and put on Christ. But the process and ordinances of becoming properly clothed are not merely for outward appearances, but are there to effect an inward change. Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galations 2: 20).
It's a change that works from the inside out and goes down deep into the heart. This thorough changing both inside and outward is represented in one of the last verses of Galatians:
"For I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus" (Galatians 6: 17).
In the end, it's not my own righteousness that will save me or change me for the better. Lehi teaches this clearly to his son, Jacob, who was a great Book of Mormon prophet. Clearly, he was a righteous man. But notice what Lehi said to him:
"Wherefore, thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother, Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God. Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men" (2 Nephi 2: 3).
As righteous as Jacob was, his own father recognized that his redemption came not from Jacob's righteousness, but from the Savior's righteousness.
For me, it's a matter of "letting go and letting God."
