Edited for brevity, I'm not suggesting we sit around and do nothing - that'd be dumb. Your listed verses can be summed up, at least for me, as our living sacrifice - Roman 12.
Because of Jesus, can sin condemn us any longer? Can our not-sinning save us?
what are you talking about? Seriously! What are you talking about? We have already established that our works are not what saves us and yet we are to work at our salvation, as in the ongoing work of the HS within us. Now, you somehow want us to go back to the moment of salvation and redefine what we already established? I simply don't get what you are trying to make a case for. You claimed that being without sin and being righteous are not the same thing, I asked you how they differ, what the difference is, etc. and you try to undo what we already established and go back to the point of salvation. Please, I beg of you, for the effort I am putting into trying to be considerate and understanding you...what, in simple terms are you trying to get at? Please I beg of you, before this goes down some road it shouldn't, explain how your questions even reflect what we have already discussed and seen in scripture much less how it answers the question of how sinlessness and righteousness are different?
I'll go back to John 16:8-10
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
What is the sin that he convicts us of? The sin of unbelief. That's it.
so you are seriously trying to make a case for the only sin that exists in this world is the sin of disbelief? Seriously? I John 2:16 among others come to mind...passages that would disagree with the premise you seem to be presenting now.
And yet he has also declared us righteous. After having looked closely at our lives, what we've done or haven't done, our dirty little secrets, what we've given or haven't given, etc - that the gavel in the court of heaven has convicted us righteous (and bearing in mind I'm not talking about self-righteousness).
got to run, so I'm not posting passages, but just wanted to point out that we have been talking about Christ's righteousness imputed to us at salvation, iow's not our own righteous acts. that does not mean we don't put forth some effort in our process of growing in Christ, but that it isn't about our "righteousness" cause without Christ we have none. Don't know how many times we can say that and you still don't see it, but okay, keep going, still trying to figure out what you see is the difference between being without sin and being righteous...I'm gonna assume pretty soon that if you don't explain what you mean that you don't really have an explanation.
Where does sin have any bearing on that righteousness?
if we are in sin, we are unrighteous. Sin means to miss the mark, the mark is the law....righteousness means to do what is right, that is right according to the law. Therefore, to be righteous means to be without sin.
Where sin does have significant impact in our lives is as Paul stated several times to the Corinthians, chapters 6, 10.
Paraphrased "All things are lawful to me, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anythingbut not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others."
oh...so you are one that thinks the law was done away with rather than that the law was fulfilled? Sorry, that doesn't fly, when I get back if you want I will pull out a bunch of passages, but the short version goes like this....the OT law was replaced by the NT law of Love, a "Love that sums up all the law and prophets"
IOW, while I may have the right - no longer being under the law - to do anything and everything, not anything or everything will be constructive to me, or productive to me, or beneficial to me, as living sacrifices. (In fact, not everything is "consequencelessness" just because we are now no longer under the law, and some will be, obviously, destructive and detrimental) And I won't be mastered or be in bondage to anything. Or to put it in another way, doing good works will be beneficial and constructive to my life and others. They are my living sacrifices. And while they might be demonstrative of our righteousness and salvation, they are not what causes us to become or attain righteousness.
Now, you are changing the whole thing to how to become righteous...no offense intended but it is very difficult to follow you when you keep changing the question. We are righteous because God imputes Christ's righteousness on our account. An account that is to remain righteous, as in I am to do my part to keep that account clear of sin.
It really is a beautifully simple thing, but somehow you seem to be missing it.
None the less, the question I asked is your evidence and intended meaning between how sinlessness and righteousness differ....you still have not provided that for me. Does this mean that you can't or that you don't want to?