Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
After Adam had sinned, he lost the ability to pass on to any of his posterity, the image of God in which he was created. That image as it came in pristine condition from the hands of the Creator, was severely distorted, though not fully obliterated, and therefore, the sentence of death hung over the head of every human being, since we were guilty by association and also genetically.
A child is born to parents who are infected with the Aids virus, contracted through a promiscuous lifestyle, and through no fault of their own the deadly malady is passed on from father to son. Even though the child did not do anything wrong, yet it is infected, and as such will need treatment, just as their parents do. This sacred truth is alluded to in the book of Psalms, where David, in reflecting on his grievous sin with Bathsheba, confessed that he was powerless to save himself, being born with a genetic defect, namely sin. Let's read:
Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
And so it was, that because it required the perfect life of a human being for the remission of sins, that Christ lived and died, so that His righteousness could be credited to the account of those who respond in the positive to His gracious overtures of mercy. It is very important for us to know that although we are still required to obey God, yet it is only the perfect obedience of Jesus that God really accepts instead of ours.
This fact however does not remove from us the obligation to walk in harmony with God's law through the indwelling of the Holy spirit, because the work of salvation also includes imputing and imparting the righteousness of Christ to our hearts on a daily basis. We therefore end with a passage of scripture that calls us to an active cooperation with God as the obedience of Christ is credited to us in the courts above. Let's read:
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
May the righteousness of Christ be ours, so that an abundant entrance into heaven may be granted to all who look and live. God bless!