John 15:3. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
Many Christians confuse righteousness with holiness. Righteousness is what God sees in you because you depend on the righteousness of Jesus. Isaiah 64:6 says that all of your righteousness is as filthy rags. Jesus must now exchange His righteousness for your unrighteousness. Holiness is not righteousness, it is a result of how you control your carnal nature and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in your life. (The opposite of the fruit of the Spirit is seen in Galatians 5:17-21.)
