The Only Hope for Sinners
This points to the biblical reality that, because of the universality of sin, no human being can stand before a holy God based on their own merit or moral efforts (Romans 3:10-12).
Something that we do on our own does not involve relying on anyone else, so it is contradictory to consider our reliance on God's instructions to be something that we do that is based on our own merit or moral efforts. Rather, something that we is based on our own merits and moral efforts would be completely independent of following anything that God has instructed. God is trustworthy, therefore His instructions are also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to rely on God is by obediently relying on His instructions. There are many people described as righteous in the Bible, such as Noah (Genesis 6:8-9) and Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-6), so Romans 3:10-12, it is not denying that anyone is righteous, but rather it is quoting Psalms 14:1-3, which denies that anyone is righteous among those who say that there is no God.
Our best deeds are stained with sin and fall short of God’s perfect standard (Isaiah 64:6).
In Isaiah 64:6, it have nothing to do with saying that their best deeds fall short of God's perfect standard, but rather it is the people hyperbolically complaining about God not coming down and making his presence known. God is not a commander of filthy rags, but rather the righteous deeds of the saints are like fine white linen (Revelation 19:8).
However, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, believers are united with Him, and His perfect righteousness is imputed—or credited—to them (2 Corinthians 5:21). This divine exchange means that Christ bore the punishment for our sins on the cross, while His perfect obedience is counted as ours before God. To be "clothed" in His righteousness, therefore, is to be covered entirely by His merit, standing justified and accepted in the sight of God. This doctrine underscores that salvation is entirely a work of grace, leaving no room for human boasting (Ephesians 2:8-9). It reminds us that Christ alone is the sinner's refuge and hope of eternal life.
https://www.monergism.com/reformation-theology/blog/only-hope-sinners
In Psalms 119:29-30, he wanted to put false ways far from him, for God to be gracious to him by teaching hi to obey His law, and he chose the way of faith by setting it before him, so this has always been the one and only way of salvation by grace through faith.
In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he and Israel might know Him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the goal of the law is to teach us how to know God and Jesus, which is His gift of eternal life (John 17:3).
In Genesis 6:8-9, Noah found grace in the eyes of God, he was a righteous man, and he walked with God, so God was gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way and he was righteous because he obeyed through faith. In Romans 1:5, we have received grace in order to bring about the obedience of faith.
In Ephesians 2:8-10, we are new creations in Christ to do good works, so while we do not earn our salvation as the result of our works lest anyone should boast, being graciously made to be a doer of good works is nevertheless a central part of our gift of salvation.
In Titus 2:14, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so doing those works has nothing to do with trying to earn our salvation as the result, but rather God graciously teaching us to be a dear of those works is part of His gift of salvation.
While the only way for someone to attain a character trait is through faith, what it means for someone to attain a character trait is for them to become a doer of that trait, so the gift of righteousness is the gift of getting to become a doer of righteous works in obedience to God's law.
