Time and time again we see great men and women in this world who have done greatness and everything about them is good. But Paul says a bleak reminder. That there is no-one righteous. Everyone falls short.
Romans 3:9–20 (NKJV):
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Paul’s Shift in Perspective
In Romans 3:9, Paul makes an important rhetorical move. He shifts from speaking of Jews in the third person (“they”) to including himself with them in the first person (“we”):
“Do we have an advantage?”
By doing this, Paul aligns himself with his audience rather than standing against them.
This sets the stage for one of the most sobering sections in Romans: a chain of Old Testament quotations that demonstrates the universality of sin.
The Catena of Scriptures (Romans 3:10–18)
Paul isn’t randomly quoting verses; he is building a catena (a chain of texts), drawing primarily from the Psalms and Isaiah to show that “the Law and the Prophets” bear witness against humanity’s supposed righteousness.
1. The Universality of Sin (vv. 10–12)
- Source: Psalm 14:1–3; Psalm 53:1–3; Ecclesiastes 7:20
- “There is none righteous, no, not one; … There is none who seeks after God … not even one.”
➡️ Paul piles up emphatic universal negatives: none, no one, all, not even one. At least eight times in three verses, he stresses that no exceptions exist. Not even the legalisms, the ascetic monks no one.
2. The Corruption of Speech (vv. 13–14)
- Sources: Psalm 5:9; Psalm 140:3; Psalm 10:7
- “Their throat is an open tomb… The poison of vipers is under their lips… Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”
Words reveal the heart. Paul highlights deceit, flattery, cursing, and bitterness — speech as a weapon that destroys. It’s important to understand that one of the effects that is highlighted by Paul in this is the fact that there is poison in our lips.
This is why we as believers, as New Creation are expected to behave differently.
3. The Violence of Society (vv. 15–17)
- Source: Isaiah 59:7–8
- “Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; the way of peace they have not known.”
Human sin goes beyond words to actions: bloodshed, oppression, and the absence of peace. Don’t be surprised when it happens.
4. The Root of All Sin (v. 18)
- Source: Psalm 36:1
- “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
The core issue is not ignorance but rebellion. Humanity doesn’t revere God, and this absence of fear fuels all the corruption described above.
Greek Emphasis: “None… Not Even One”
Paul uses the Greek phrase οὐκ ἔστιν (ouk estin, “there is none”) repeatedly. When he wants to drive the point deeper, he intensifies it with οὐδὲ εἷς (oude heis, “not even one”).
- Men don’t obey God (vv. 10, 12b).
- Men don’t understand God (v. 11a; cf. 1 Cor. 2:14).
- Men don’t want God (vv. 11b–12a).
As R. C. Sproul observed:
“People do not seek God. They seek the benefits that only God can give them. The sin of fallen man is this: Man seeks the benefits of God while at the same time fleeing from God himself. We are, by nature, fugitives.”
The Bleakness Before the Light
Paul uses Scripture here to bolster his argument that all have sinned and are in rebellion.
The conclusion of this section is crushing:
“…that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19).
No one escapes. Jew and Gentile alike are guilty. The law cannot save — it only reveals sin.
The Turn Toward Hope
The message so far is bleak. But Paul is not finished. He is preparing the ground for the good news:
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe” (Rom. 3:21–22).
This is where grace breaks in. Humanity is universally guilty, but God has universally offered righteousness — not by law, not by works, but by faith in Christ. We will dive into that in detail in the upcoming blogs.
If you think you are righteous by the Law, take this quiz.
✍️ Takeaway:
Romans 3:10–18 is not just a string of depressing verses — it’s Paul’s way of silencing every excuse and every boast. Only when we see the depth of our sin do we truly see the glory of the gospel.
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