John Stott: We only have two options for righteous standing before God

John Stott explains the two options -- our righteousness, which is like filthy rags; or God's imputed righteousness -- for the ground upon which to stand before Him:

All human beings, who know that God is righteous and they are not (since ‘there is no-one righteous, not even one’, 3:10), naturally look around for a righteousness which might fit them to stand in God’s presence. There are only two possible options before us. The first is to attempt to build or establish our own righteousness, by our good works and religious observances. But this is doomed to failure, since in God’s sight even ‘all our righteous acts are like filthy rags’. The other way is to submit to God’s righteousness by receiving it from him as a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ. In verses 5-6 Paul calls the first the righteousness that is by the law and the second the righteousness that is by faith. (John Stott, Romans: God’s Good News for the World (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1994), 281; quoted by Brian Schwertley in his refutation of the Auburn Avenue theology)