Balance In The Bible - Righteousness/Perfection

When I was commenting on the Intrnet, there seemed to be many people who fall into extremes when it came to righteousness.  Many believe that faith in Jesus makes us righteous in God's eyes (it does) and that we no longer need to practice righteousness to be saved.  If they are told that we should practice righteousness, they believe this means we are trying to then earn our salvation.  Others believe that when God makes us righteous, it means we no longer sin.  Yet if that is true, there is no need for Romans 7, in which Paul says, "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not."  (Rom. 7:18)  Early in Paul's Christianity, he said that he was not even fit to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church (1 Cor. 15:9).  In his final "book", his letter to Timothy, Paul writes, "Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom I AM chief. (1 Tim. 1:15) -- not WAS, but AM chief of sinners".

So, if we are made righteous in God's eyes, do we strive for righteousness?  Or are we perfect?  Do all of these Scriptures contradict each other?  Many commenters seem to believe they do, because most of them only list the Scriptures with cater to their own views.  Yet all are in the Bible, and "ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughtly furnished unto all good works." (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

I believe that all sides would agree that God gives us His righteousness.  Everybody agrees with Romans 3:23-26:  "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom, God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness, that He might be just , and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus."  This simply means that we all sin, the penalty for sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  Jesus became our substitute, dying on our behalf, and, through our faith in Jesus, God gives us His righteousness.  "For He (God) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor. 5:21)  Jesus, who was sinless, was seen by God has taking on every sin ever committed, so that once He paid the penalty, God could then see believers as righteous.  We exchanged places. 

Next time, I want to look more closely at the phrase "in Him" because I believe it provides the main balance for all of the Scritures on righteousness or perfection.