Why is Christ's righteousness important for salvation?

In Romans 3:23, we see that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, establishing the necessity for a perfect righteousness that can only be found in Jesus Christ. His obedience to the law was without blemish, allowing Him to fulfill the requirements of God’s justice. Consequently, when we trust in Him, His perfect righteousness is credited to us through imputation, granting us justification before God (Romans 5:1). This means that we are declared righteous not by our works, but solely through the merits of Christ’s work on our behalf.