The Righteousness of God

2 Corinthians 6:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

There seems to be and truthfully always has been a debate among Christians concerning what it takes to be righteous. To be honest I have been at many different points in the spectrum throughout my experience; from despairing that victory over sin was impossible, to believing that to be sealed at the end that I had to attain to the same sinlessness that Jesus experienced while here on Earth.

Consider what Paul says about Jesus in this verse. God made him to be sin who knew no sin. In some way that we cannot fully understand God placed all of our sin on Jesus and he was judged just as you or I would be judged were we to be arraigned without his sacrifice.

However, Jesus did not have to sin to become sin. This was work that God alone did. Why is it then when we read this verse we tend to be so quick to say that God made Jesus to be sin, yet for us to become righteous we must do X, Y, &Z?

Can we not become righteous in the same way that Jesus became sin?