Question

Can you comment on these three verses, and any additional in this context you need to add, please. I was asked by a member of the congregation to comment on the statement at the end of verse 10 (“There is none righteous, no, not one”) and am not really comfortable that I did a good job. Any help would be appreciated, no rush for sure.

Romans 3:10-12: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.“

Answer

The immediate context of Romans 3:10-12 begins in verse 9 and goes through verse 19. Paul is summing up and driving home his premise that all need the saving power of the gospel.

He states his premise, the theme of Romans, in Romans 1:16-17. In Romans 1:18-32 he proves that with which the Jews would heartily agree, the Gentiles are lost and need salvation. In chapter two, however, he turns his attention to the Jews and demonstrates that, though the Jews had the Law, they did not keep it, and they, as well as the Gentiles, need the salvation in Christ. In 3:1-8 he answers Jewish arguments against his premise. Then in 3:9-19 he summarizes that all need the saving power of the gospel by appealing to Old Testament passages which state the universality of sin. He does not argue that all are born in sin but that all have sinned.

Romans 3:10-12 is a quotation of Psalm 14:1-3 (also 53:1-3). In these Psalms David is using hyperbole to describe those who refuse to acknowledge God. The language cannot be used to support inherent depravity, since they “turned aside” and “have ... become unprofitable,” implying they were once in the way and were profitable (Romans 3:12). Since David is specifically talking about those who reject God, the quote by itself would not prove the universality of sin. However, as a summation of the arguments Paul made in chapters one and two, the wording is an appropriate summary of his point - all have sinned.