Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.
For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Romans 10:1-3

Paul wrote of the Israelites zeal of God, he understood that zeal because it was the same that he worked in to persecute the body of Christ in his ignorance before his conversion on the road to Damascus. He later wrote to Timothy “I, who was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief;” By God’s intervention Paul came to understand that his zeal and perception of righteousness were not the work of God. The righteousness of God is only revealed and imparted in and through Christ Jesus, Job also knew this as he said many hundreds of years before Jesus birth “I know that my redeemer lives”, he knew there was nothing of his own righteousness that could eternally save, only God’s righteousness through Christ.

Despite what the flesh tells us, the righteousness that makes us acceptable to God, it is not established in man by his will or actions, any “righteousness” that the flesh proposes to submit as merit before God is as Isaiah said in chapter 64: “filthy rags”.

The flesh desires to claim that righteousness is established by its own strength, just as it desires to claim the fruit of its labour in the same way, this is what Nebuchadnezzar thought when rather than giving thanks to God for granting strength, he said:
“Isn’t this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” Ref. Daniel 4.
But God withdrew the wisdom and understanding He had given Nebuchadnezzar and left him with barely enough intelligence to crawl and eat grass until He granted Nebuchadnezzar the ability to look up toward God in heaven, in acknowledgement of Who intelligence comes from.

When we submit ourselves to God’s righteousness which dwells in us through Christ, we (the flesh) decrease and Christ increases, we cease to attempt to establish our own righteousness and we submit to acknowledging and receiving the peaceful blessings of God’s righteousness in Christ Jesus.
I’m reminded of His words on the cross: “It is finished“.

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yes doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 

Philippians 3:7-9

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. 

Philippians 1:11