I've studied imputation of righteousness for years vs. actual infused righteousness. Imputation is simply declaration and transfer legally speaking. Martin Luther's bread and butter was this topic. For Luther, through grace we are not actually transformed. That is what Orthodoxy and Catholicism say. The Orthodox and Catholic faiths say that there actually IS a life-changing transformation. Our sins are quite literally taken away. We are cleansed, sanctified, changed. If our sin comes back to us, it is because of our own actions within our free will. So, grace can transform and mold us. For Martin Luther, he said we are totally indelibly engulfed in sin. We are depraved and wholly swallowed by sin. Therefore, God takes His own righteousness, that of His Son Jesus, and clothes us in it. He COVERS our ugly sin natures and we are then looked upon as holy though we ARE NOT. It is juridical courtroom drama. God looks at filthy humanity and sees only His Son. Imputation is a covering, a cloaking, a hiding. It is a courtroom declaration, nothing more. God gives us credit for something we didn't do or earn. Luther says humans are all filthy piles of dung covered in a lovely wedding dress. Quite stark and depressing when compared with the Orthodox vision of inner change, transformation, becoming something better, and God being a nurturing Father who wants us to grow toward Him in theosis.