Romans 3:9-12 Commentary – None Righteous, No, Not One
Romans VerseQuest Commentary Essay 18: None Righteous, No, Not One Text: Romans 3:9–12
Romans 3:9–12 says, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 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.” That is not Paul having a bad day. That is the Holy Ghost reading the verdict over the entire human race. Romans 1 exposed the Gentile world in its rebellion, idolatry, uncleanness, reprobate thinking, and catalogue of depravity. Romans 2 exposed the moral judge, the religious hypocrite, the Jew resting in the law, the man with Scripture in his hand and rebellion in his heart. Romans 3 now begins closing the courtroom doors. Jew and Gentile have both been brought to trial. The pagan, the philosopher, the moralist, the religious man, the circumcised man, the uncircumcised man, the man with the law, the man without the law, the man with conscience, the man with Scripture, the man with privilege, and the man with excuses are all standing in the same place: under sin.
This passage is where every self-improvement gospel gets its neck broken. It is where every religion built on human goodness collapses into dust. Paul does not say mankind is slightly wounded, morally inconvenienced, spiritually underdeveloped, socially disadvantaged, or in need of a little polish. He says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” That does not leave room for the religious optimist who wants to tell sinners they are basically good people who merely need a little guidance. It does not leave room for the sacramentalist who thinks religious machinery can improve Adam until God accepts him. It does not leave room for the philosopher who thinks education will save society. It does not leave room for the liberal preacher who thinks man’s problem is lack of self-esteem. It does not leave room for the moralist who says, “Well, I may not be perfect, but I am better than most.” God is not comparing sinners to other sinners. God is reading the race in Adam, and the verdict is universal guilt.
Romans 3:9–12 must be handled honestly. It is not Calvinism’s private property, and it is not to be twisted into fatalistic machinery where God damns men apart from real responsibility. Paul is not writing a philosophical system for men to argue in a cage match. He is proving universal condemnation so that the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ can be revealed as the only answer. “None seeketh after God” describes man in his fallen condition, left to himself, suppressing truth, loving darkness, turning aside, and refusing God’s righteousness. Yet the same Bible commands men to seek the Lord, calls sinners to repent, sends preachers with the gospel, and says “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The sinner’s inability to produce righteousness does not erase his responsibility to believe God. Romans is not written to make men sit around admiring depravity. It is written to shut every mouth and drive every guilty sinner to Christ.
Chapter One: Are We Better Than They?
Paul begins verse 9 with, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise.” That question follows everything he has said about Jewish advantage. The Jew had much advantage every way, chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God. Israel had real privilege. Circumcision had real covenant profit in its place. The law was a real revelation from God. But Paul immediately guards against the flesh turning advantage into superiority. “Are we better than they?” No. Not morally. Not spiritually. Not before the bar of God’s righteousness. Privilege is not the same as personal righteousness. Having more light does not mean having less guilt when that light is rejected. If anything, it makes the guilt sharper because the man sinned against clearer revelation.
This is where religious pride gets exposed. A man with a Bible may think he is better than the man without one. A church member may think he is better than the drunk. A doctrinal man may think he is better than the emotional man. A conservative may think he is better than the liberal. A Jew under the law might think he was better than the Gentile idolater. Paul says, “No, in no wise.” That does not mean truth does not matter. It does not mean doctrine does not matter. It does not mean light does not matter. It means none of those things give a sinner personal righteousness before God. A man may have the right Bible, the right doctrine, the right dispensational chart, the right church affiliation, and the right enemies, and still need the righteousness of God because he has none of his own.
The question also humbles every Bible believer who knows he has been given light. If God has shown you truth, do not strut. Tremble. If God has given you His preserved words, do not use them as a ladder to look down on everybody else. Bow under them. If God has taught you right division, do not turn it into a badge of arrogance. Let it make you more careful, more grateful, more sober, and harder to fool. Paul’s question slices through spiritual elitism. “Are we better than they?” No. Saved men are saved by grace. Bible believers are Bible believers by mercy. Any man who knows truth knows it because God gave light. The only thing the flesh contributed was the sin that made the blood of Christ necessary.
Chapter Two: Both Jews and Gentiles Are Under Sin
Paul says, “for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” That is the summary of Romans 1 and 2. Paul has not merely asserted it; he has proved it. The Gentiles are under sin. The Jews are under sin. The man without the law is under sin. The man in the law is under sin. The man with conscience is under sin. The man with circumcision is under sin. The moral judge is under sin. The religious teacher is under sin. That word “all” is not decorative. It is universal. God has placed the whole race under the indictment. Nobody escapes because of nationality, education, religion, morality, sincerity, tradition, or outward privilege.
To be “under sin” is more than committing occasional mistakes. It is to be under sin’s dominion, guilt, power, and condemnation as a member of Adam’s fallen race. Sin is not just an act; it is a ruling principle in fallen man. Romans 5 will show that by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men. Romans 6 will speak of sin reigning, sin having dominion, and men being servants of sin before deliverance in Christ. The sinner is not merely a free moral agent with a few bad habits floating around him. He is under sin. That means sin stands over him like a cruel master, testifies against him like a witness, stains him like a disease, chains him like a prison, and condemns him like a sentence already written.
This doctrine destroys the fantasy of human neutrality. Men like to think they stand in a neutral middle ground deciding whether God has made a good enough case. The Bible says they are under sin. The unbeliever is not an impartial judge evaluating God from a clean bench. He is a guilty criminal trying to critique the Judge. His mind is affected, his heart is darkened, his will is crooked, his affections are disordered, and his conscience is unreliable. That is why man’s religions always produce systems that flatter man in some way. They may require discipline, sacrifice, ritual, or moral effort, but somewhere inside they let man keep a little glory. The gospel does not. The gospel says all are under sin, and therefore salvation must be of grace.
Chapter Three: As It Is Written
Romans 3:10 begins, “As it is written.” Paul now takes the witness stand and calls Scripture. He is not leaning on personal opinion, Jewish tradition, Gentile philosophy, church history, emotional testimony, or religious experience. He says, “As it is written.” That is where the argument ends for a Bible believer. When Scripture speaks, the court has heard from the final authority. Paul is gathering Old Testament testimony, especially from the Psalms and prophets, to prove that the doctrine of universal human guilt is not a new invention. God had already said what man was. Paul is not discovering depravity. He is declaring it from the written word.
This phrase also shows how Paul uses the Old Testament under the Spirit of God. He does not throw away the Hebrew Scriptures because he is the apostle of the Gentiles. He uses them rightly. He quotes them to establish God’s verdict on man. Right division does not mean ignoring the Old Testament. It means putting every passage where God put it and applying it lawfully. The Old Testament reveals God’s holiness, man’s sin, Israel’s history, prophetic truth, covenant promises, types of Christ, and the moral condition of mankind. Paul can quote it with authority because all Scripture is profitable. But he does not use it to put the Body of Christ back under Moses. He uses it here to prove the universal guilt that makes justification by faith necessary.
“As it is written” is also a rebuke to the modern Bible critic. Paul does not say, “As the better manuscripts may suggest.” He does not say, “As the current academic consensus indicates.” He does not say, “As religious tradition has preserved in principle.” He says, “As it is written.” Written revelation is the authority. God put His truth into words, and those words stand over man. If the Bible says none are righteous, then man’s flattering opinion of himself is a lie. If the Bible says none understand, then man’s intellectual pride is a lie. If the Bible says none seek after God, then man’s religious boasting is a lie. Let God be true, but every man a liar.
Chapter Four: There Is None Righteous, No, Not One
The first charge is, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” That is the verse that knocks the crown off Adam’s head. None righteous. Not one. God does not say there are a few righteous people sprinkled through history who managed to climb above the rest by moral effort. He does not say most people are unrighteous but a handful of refined souls have achieved enough goodness to be accepted. He says none. Then, as if the sinner might try to squeeze through a crack in the word “none,” God adds, “no, not one.” That is the Holy Ghost double-locking the door. The moralist cannot get through. The religious man cannot get through. The philosopher cannot get through. The respectable churchgoer cannot get through. No, not one.
Righteousness in Scripture is not measured by human comparison. That is where men deceive themselves. They compare themselves among themselves and come away feeling clean because they found someone dirtier. A thief compares himself to a murderer. A liar compares himself to an adulterer. A drunkard compares himself to a drug addict. A religious hypocrite compares himself to all of them and thanks God he is not as other men. But God does not grade by neighborhood averages. His standard is His own righteousness. Compared to other sinners, some men may look decent. Compared to God, none are righteous. A mud puddle may look clean beside a sewer, but neither one is fit to drink.
This is why the righteousness of God must be revealed in the gospel. If man had righteousness, he could bring it. If he could produce righteousness, he could work for it. If he could improve himself into righteousness, religion might have a point. But Romans says there is none righteous. Therefore righteousness must come from outside man. It must be provided by God, revealed by God, received by faith, and grounded in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:21–22 will soon say, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested… even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” The bad news prepares the soul for the good news. No righteousness in man; righteousness from God in Christ.
Chapter Five: There Is None That Understandeth
Paul continues, “There is none that understandeth.” That does not mean every lost man is intellectually stupid. Some lost men can do advanced mathematics, practice medicine, write philosophy, build machines, run governments, compose music, and speak multiple languages. The Bible is not denying mental ability. It is denying spiritual understanding in fallen man. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. He may understand chemistry and not understand sin. He may understand law and not understand justice before God. He may understand grammar and not understand Scripture. He may understand religion and not understand grace. That is the blindness of fallen understanding.
Sin affects the mind. That is one of the truths modern man hates most, because he worships his intellect. He thinks if he is educated enough, credentialed enough, rational enough, and well-read enough, he can stand above revelation and judge it. Romans says there is none that understandeth. Man’s mind is not neutral. It is darkened by sin, twisted by pride, and often used as a factory for excuses. This is why brilliant men can say idiotic things about God with confidence. They can look at creation and deny the Creator. They can look at moral law and deny the Lawgiver. They can read prophecy and call it coincidence. They can look at the resurrection and search for any explanation except the obvious one. Education cannot cure spiritual darkness. Sometimes it only teaches darkness to speak in footnotes.
The lack of understanding also explains why man constantly invents false religion. He does not understand God’s righteousness, so he establishes his own. He does not understand grace, so he adds works. He does not understand the cross, so he repeats sacrifices. He does not understand the new birth, so he substitutes water. He does not understand the Body of Christ, so he steals Israel’s promises. He does not understand the gospel, so he preaches self-improvement. He does not understand Scripture, so he corrects it. Every false system on earth is proof that man does not understand. The cure is not for God to submit to man’s intellect. The cure is for man to submit to God’s word.
Chapter Six: There Is None That Seeketh After God
Paul then says, “there is none that seeketh after God.” That sentence irritates religious flesh because men love to imagine themselves as sincere seekers. The Bible says man left to himself does not seek after God. He seeks relief, power, meaning, comfort, blessing, forgiveness without repentance, heaven without holiness, spirituality without authority, religion without surrender, and gods made in his own image. He may seek experiences, rituals, philosophies, temples, teachers, mysteries, moral systems, and supernatural feelings. But the God of the Bible, the holy Creator who judges sin and commands repentance? Fallen man does not seek Him naturally. He hides from Him like Adam in the garden.
This does not mean no sinner ever cries out to God under conviction or that no man responds when God gives light. The Bible commands men to seek the Lord and promises that those who seek in truth will find. But Romans 3 is describing mankind in Adam, not the response of a heart worked on by the word and Spirit of God. God seeks man before man seeks God. The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Preaching goes out. Light is given. Conviction comes. The gospel is presented. The sinner is commanded to believe. But if man is left to his own fallen nature, he does not climb toward God. He runs from God, replaces God, suppresses God, argues with God, and then calls his rebellion a journey.
This verse also exposes the vanity of world religion. The world says religion proves man is seeking God. The Bible says religion often proves man is avoiding Him. Pagans seek gods they can manage. Philosophers seek concepts they can control. Mystics seek experiences they can feel. Ritualists seek systems they can perform. Moralists seek standards they can compare. Idolaters seek images they can see. The sinner will seek almost anything except the true God on His terms. That is why the gospel is not man’s discovery of God, but God’s revelation of Christ to man. Salvation begins with God speaking, God sending, God giving, God drawing, God convicting, God providing, and God saving. Man’s only hope is not that he was a good seeker, but that Christ is a mighty Saviour.
Chapter Seven: All Gone Out of the Way and Become Unprofitable
Romans 3:12 says, “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Man is not merely standing still in ignorance. He has gone out of the way. There is a right way, and man has departed from it. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” That is man’s problem: his own way. It may be a religious way, an intellectual way, an immoral way, a respectable way, a rebellious way, or a moral reform way, but if it is not God’s way in Christ, it is the wrong way. A man can walk his own way with a Bible under his arm and still be astray if he rejects the gospel of God.
“They are together become unprofitable.” That is God’s estimate of fallen man’s spiritual usefulness in himself. Unprofitable does not mean man cannot do anything useful on an earthly level. Lost men can build bridges, practice medicine, write laws, grow food, and show natural affection. The context is righteousness before God. Spiritually, as a sinner in Adam, man is unprofitable. He does not produce the righteousness God requires. He does not bring acceptable goodness to justify himself. He does not contribute saving merit. His works may impress other men, but they cannot purchase peace with God. Isaiah said all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. The best of Adam is still Adam, and Adam’s race is under sin.
The final line repeats the first verdict in another form: “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Again the Holy Ghost closes the loophole. None that doeth good. No, not one. That crushes the idea that sinners can be saved by doing their best. Their best is not good enough because their best does not meet God’s righteousness. This does not mean every human act is as wicked as it could possibly be. It means no fallen man produces the spiritual good required to justify himself before God. The sinner needs more than improvement. He needs imputed righteousness. He needs redemption. He needs Christ. Romans is not leading us to admire human potential. It is leading us to the cross.
Conclusion
Romans 3:9–12 is Paul’s final courtroom indictment beginning to close upon the whole human race. Jew and Gentile are both under sin. The Scriptures themselves testify that none are righteous, none understand, none seek after God, all have gone out of the way, all have become unprofitable, and none doeth good, no, not one. That is not a flattering diagnosis, but it is the true one. God does not save men by lying to them about their condition. He tells them the truth so they will stop trusting themselves. A gospel that begins with man’s goodness is false from the first word. The gospel of Christ begins with God’s holiness, man’s guilt, and the righteousness of God provided by grace.
This passage also protects the doctrine of salvation from every religious counterfeit. If none are righteous, then righteousness must be received, not achieved. If none understand, then revelation must correct human wisdom. If none seek after God, then God’s grace must seek the sinner. If all have gone out of the way, then Christ must be the way back. If all are unprofitable, then human merit cannot pay the debt. If none doeth good, then good works cannot justify the soul. Paul is not being negative for effect. He is clearing the ground so that when he says “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,” the guilty sinner understands why that is the best news he has ever heard.
So let the verdict stand. None righteous. No, not one. That includes the pagan, the moralist, the Jew, the Gentile, the church member, the philosopher, the preacher’s kid, the religious teacher, the respectable citizen, the criminal, the scholar, the poor man, the rich man, the conservative, the liberal, the traditionalist, and the rebel. All under sin. But Romans does not stop at condemnation. It moves to justification. The same God who exposes universal guilt also provides righteousness through Jesus Christ. The sinner must stop pleading his own case, stop polishing his own record, stop comparing himself to other sinners, and stop trusting the lie of human goodness. The only hope for a race with none righteous is the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:9-12 Commentary – None Righteous, No, Not One
Romans VerseQuest Commentary
Essay 18: None Righteous, No, Not One
Text: Romans 3:9–12
Romans 3:9–12 says, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 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.” That is not Paul having a bad day. That is the Holy Ghost reading the verdict over the entire human race. Romans 1 exposed the Gentile world in its rebellion, idolatry, uncleanness, reprobate thinking, and catalogue of depravity. Romans 2 exposed the moral judge, the religious hypocrite, the Jew resting in the law, the man with Scripture in his hand and rebellion in his heart. Romans 3 now begins closing the courtroom doors. Jew and Gentile have both been brought to trial. The pagan, the philosopher, the moralist, the religious man, the circumcised man, the uncircumcised man, the man with the law, the man without the law, the man with conscience, the man with Scripture, the man with privilege, and the man with excuses are all standing in the same place: under sin.
This passage is where every self-improvement gospel gets its neck broken. It is where every religion built on human goodness collapses into dust. Paul does not say mankind is slightly wounded, morally inconvenienced, spiritually underdeveloped, socially disadvantaged, or in need of a little polish. He says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” That does not leave room for the religious optimist who wants to tell sinners they are basically good people who merely need a little guidance. It does not leave room for the sacramentalist who thinks religious machinery can improve Adam until God accepts him. It does not leave room for the philosopher who thinks education will save society. It does not leave room for the liberal preacher who thinks man’s problem is lack of self-esteem. It does not leave room for the moralist who says, “Well, I may not be perfect, but I am better than most.” God is not comparing sinners to other sinners. God is reading the race in Adam, and the verdict is universal guilt.
Romans 3:9–12 must be handled honestly. It is not Calvinism’s private property, and it is not to be twisted into fatalistic machinery where God damns men apart from real responsibility. Paul is not writing a philosophical system for men to argue in a cage match. He is proving universal condemnation so that the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ can be revealed as the only answer. “None seeketh after God” describes man in his fallen condition, left to himself, suppressing truth, loving darkness, turning aside, and refusing God’s righteousness. Yet the same Bible commands men to seek the Lord, calls sinners to repent, sends preachers with the gospel, and says “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The sinner’s inability to produce righteousness does not erase his responsibility to believe God. Romans is not written to make men sit around admiring depravity. It is written to shut every mouth and drive every guilty sinner to Christ.
Chapter One: Are We Better Than They?
Paul begins verse 9 with, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise.” That question follows everything he has said about Jewish advantage. The Jew had much advantage every way, chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God. Israel had real privilege. Circumcision had real covenant profit in its place. The law was a real revelation from God. But Paul immediately guards against the flesh turning advantage into superiority. “Are we better than they?” No. Not morally. Not spiritually. Not before the bar of God’s righteousness. Privilege is not the same as personal righteousness. Having more light does not mean having less guilt when that light is rejected. If anything, it makes the guilt sharper because the man sinned against clearer revelation.
This is where religious pride gets exposed. A man with a Bible may think he is better than the man without one. A church member may think he is better than the drunk. A doctrinal man may think he is better than the emotional man. A conservative may think he is better than the liberal. A Jew under the law might think he was better than the Gentile idolater. Paul says, “No, in no wise.” That does not mean truth does not matter. It does not mean doctrine does not matter. It does not mean light does not matter. It means none of those things give a sinner personal righteousness before God. A man may have the right Bible, the right doctrine, the right dispensational chart, the right church affiliation, and the right enemies, and still need the righteousness of God because he has none of his own.
The question also humbles every Bible believer who knows he has been given light. If God has shown you truth, do not strut. Tremble. If God has given you His preserved words, do not use them as a ladder to look down on everybody else. Bow under them. If God has taught you right division, do not turn it into a badge of arrogance. Let it make you more careful, more grateful, more sober, and harder to fool. Paul’s question slices through spiritual elitism. “Are we better than they?” No. Saved men are saved by grace. Bible believers are Bible believers by mercy. Any man who knows truth knows it because God gave light. The only thing the flesh contributed was the sin that made the blood of Christ necessary.
Chapter Two: Both Jews and Gentiles Are Under Sin
Paul says, “for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.” That is the summary of Romans 1 and 2. Paul has not merely asserted it; he has proved it. The Gentiles are under sin. The Jews are under sin. The man without the law is under sin. The man in the law is under sin. The man with conscience is under sin. The man with circumcision is under sin. The moral judge is under sin. The religious teacher is under sin. That word “all” is not decorative. It is universal. God has placed the whole race under the indictment. Nobody escapes because of nationality, education, religion, morality, sincerity, tradition, or outward privilege.
To be “under sin” is more than committing occasional mistakes. It is to be under sin’s dominion, guilt, power, and condemnation as a member of Adam’s fallen race. Sin is not just an act; it is a ruling principle in fallen man. Romans 5 will show that by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men. Romans 6 will speak of sin reigning, sin having dominion, and men being servants of sin before deliverance in Christ. The sinner is not merely a free moral agent with a few bad habits floating around him. He is under sin. That means sin stands over him like a cruel master, testifies against him like a witness, stains him like a disease, chains him like a prison, and condemns him like a sentence already written.
This doctrine destroys the fantasy of human neutrality. Men like to think they stand in a neutral middle ground deciding whether God has made a good enough case. The Bible says they are under sin. The unbeliever is not an impartial judge evaluating God from a clean bench. He is a guilty criminal trying to critique the Judge. His mind is affected, his heart is darkened, his will is crooked, his affections are disordered, and his conscience is unreliable. That is why man’s religions always produce systems that flatter man in some way. They may require discipline, sacrifice, ritual, or moral effort, but somewhere inside they let man keep a little glory. The gospel does not. The gospel says all are under sin, and therefore salvation must be of grace.
Chapter Three: As It Is Written
Romans 3:10 begins, “As it is written.” Paul now takes the witness stand and calls Scripture. He is not leaning on personal opinion, Jewish tradition, Gentile philosophy, church history, emotional testimony, or religious experience. He says, “As it is written.” That is where the argument ends for a Bible believer. When Scripture speaks, the court has heard from the final authority. Paul is gathering Old Testament testimony, especially from the Psalms and prophets, to prove that the doctrine of universal human guilt is not a new invention. God had already said what man was. Paul is not discovering depravity. He is declaring it from the written word.
This phrase also shows how Paul uses the Old Testament under the Spirit of God. He does not throw away the Hebrew Scriptures because he is the apostle of the Gentiles. He uses them rightly. He quotes them to establish God’s verdict on man. Right division does not mean ignoring the Old Testament. It means putting every passage where God put it and applying it lawfully. The Old Testament reveals God’s holiness, man’s sin, Israel’s history, prophetic truth, covenant promises, types of Christ, and the moral condition of mankind. Paul can quote it with authority because all Scripture is profitable. But he does not use it to put the Body of Christ back under Moses. He uses it here to prove the universal guilt that makes justification by faith necessary.
“As it is written” is also a rebuke to the modern Bible critic. Paul does not say, “As the better manuscripts may suggest.” He does not say, “As the current academic consensus indicates.” He does not say, “As religious tradition has preserved in principle.” He says, “As it is written.” Written revelation is the authority. God put His truth into words, and those words stand over man. If the Bible says none are righteous, then man’s flattering opinion of himself is a lie. If the Bible says none understand, then man’s intellectual pride is a lie. If the Bible says none seek after God, then man’s religious boasting is a lie. Let God be true, but every man a liar.
Chapter Four: There Is None Righteous, No, Not One
The first charge is, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” That is the verse that knocks the crown off Adam’s head. None righteous. Not one. God does not say there are a few righteous people sprinkled through history who managed to climb above the rest by moral effort. He does not say most people are unrighteous but a handful of refined souls have achieved enough goodness to be accepted. He says none. Then, as if the sinner might try to squeeze through a crack in the word “none,” God adds, “no, not one.” That is the Holy Ghost double-locking the door. The moralist cannot get through. The religious man cannot get through. The philosopher cannot get through. The respectable churchgoer cannot get through. No, not one.
Righteousness in Scripture is not measured by human comparison. That is where men deceive themselves. They compare themselves among themselves and come away feeling clean because they found someone dirtier. A thief compares himself to a murderer. A liar compares himself to an adulterer. A drunkard compares himself to a drug addict. A religious hypocrite compares himself to all of them and thanks God he is not as other men. But God does not grade by neighborhood averages. His standard is His own righteousness. Compared to other sinners, some men may look decent. Compared to God, none are righteous. A mud puddle may look clean beside a sewer, but neither one is fit to drink.
This is why the righteousness of God must be revealed in the gospel. If man had righteousness, he could bring it. If he could produce righteousness, he could work for it. If he could improve himself into righteousness, religion might have a point. But Romans says there is none righteous. Therefore righteousness must come from outside man. It must be provided by God, revealed by God, received by faith, and grounded in Jesus Christ. Romans 3:21–22 will soon say, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested… even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.” The bad news prepares the soul for the good news. No righteousness in man; righteousness from God in Christ.
Chapter Five: There Is None That Understandeth
Paul continues, “There is none that understandeth.” That does not mean every lost man is intellectually stupid. Some lost men can do advanced mathematics, practice medicine, write philosophy, build machines, run governments, compose music, and speak multiple languages. The Bible is not denying mental ability. It is denying spiritual understanding in fallen man. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. He may understand chemistry and not understand sin. He may understand law and not understand justice before God. He may understand grammar and not understand Scripture. He may understand religion and not understand grace. That is the blindness of fallen understanding.
Sin affects the mind. That is one of the truths modern man hates most, because he worships his intellect. He thinks if he is educated enough, credentialed enough, rational enough, and well-read enough, he can stand above revelation and judge it. Romans says there is none that understandeth. Man’s mind is not neutral. It is darkened by sin, twisted by pride, and often used as a factory for excuses. This is why brilliant men can say idiotic things about God with confidence. They can look at creation and deny the Creator. They can look at moral law and deny the Lawgiver. They can read prophecy and call it coincidence. They can look at the resurrection and search for any explanation except the obvious one. Education cannot cure spiritual darkness. Sometimes it only teaches darkness to speak in footnotes.
The lack of understanding also explains why man constantly invents false religion. He does not understand God’s righteousness, so he establishes his own. He does not understand grace, so he adds works. He does not understand the cross, so he repeats sacrifices. He does not understand the new birth, so he substitutes water. He does not understand the Body of Christ, so he steals Israel’s promises. He does not understand the gospel, so he preaches self-improvement. He does not understand Scripture, so he corrects it. Every false system on earth is proof that man does not understand. The cure is not for God to submit to man’s intellect. The cure is for man to submit to God’s word.
Chapter Six: There Is None That Seeketh After God
Paul then says, “there is none that seeketh after God.” That sentence irritates religious flesh because men love to imagine themselves as sincere seekers. The Bible says man left to himself does not seek after God. He seeks relief, power, meaning, comfort, blessing, forgiveness without repentance, heaven without holiness, spirituality without authority, religion without surrender, and gods made in his own image. He may seek experiences, rituals, philosophies, temples, teachers, mysteries, moral systems, and supernatural feelings. But the God of the Bible, the holy Creator who judges sin and commands repentance? Fallen man does not seek Him naturally. He hides from Him like Adam in the garden.
This does not mean no sinner ever cries out to God under conviction or that no man responds when God gives light. The Bible commands men to seek the Lord and promises that those who seek in truth will find. But Romans 3 is describing mankind in Adam, not the response of a heart worked on by the word and Spirit of God. God seeks man before man seeks God. The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Preaching goes out. Light is given. Conviction comes. The gospel is presented. The sinner is commanded to believe. But if man is left to his own fallen nature, he does not climb toward God. He runs from God, replaces God, suppresses God, argues with God, and then calls his rebellion a journey.
This verse also exposes the vanity of world religion. The world says religion proves man is seeking God. The Bible says religion often proves man is avoiding Him. Pagans seek gods they can manage. Philosophers seek concepts they can control. Mystics seek experiences they can feel. Ritualists seek systems they can perform. Moralists seek standards they can compare. Idolaters seek images they can see. The sinner will seek almost anything except the true God on His terms. That is why the gospel is not man’s discovery of God, but God’s revelation of Christ to man. Salvation begins with God speaking, God sending, God giving, God drawing, God convicting, God providing, and God saving. Man’s only hope is not that he was a good seeker, but that Christ is a mighty Saviour.
Chapter Seven: All Gone Out of the Way and Become Unprofitable
Romans 3:12 says, “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Man is not merely standing still in ignorance. He has gone out of the way. There is a right way, and man has departed from it. Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” That is man’s problem: his own way. It may be a religious way, an intellectual way, an immoral way, a respectable way, a rebellious way, or a moral reform way, but if it is not God’s way in Christ, it is the wrong way. A man can walk his own way with a Bible under his arm and still be astray if he rejects the gospel of God.
“They are together become unprofitable.” That is God’s estimate of fallen man’s spiritual usefulness in himself. Unprofitable does not mean man cannot do anything useful on an earthly level. Lost men can build bridges, practice medicine, write laws, grow food, and show natural affection. The context is righteousness before God. Spiritually, as a sinner in Adam, man is unprofitable. He does not produce the righteousness God requires. He does not bring acceptable goodness to justify himself. He does not contribute saving merit. His works may impress other men, but they cannot purchase peace with God. Isaiah said all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. The best of Adam is still Adam, and Adam’s race is under sin.
The final line repeats the first verdict in another form: “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Again the Holy Ghost closes the loophole. None that doeth good. No, not one. That crushes the idea that sinners can be saved by doing their best. Their best is not good enough because their best does not meet God’s righteousness. This does not mean every human act is as wicked as it could possibly be. It means no fallen man produces the spiritual good required to justify himself before God. The sinner needs more than improvement. He needs imputed righteousness. He needs redemption. He needs Christ. Romans is not leading us to admire human potential. It is leading us to the cross.
Conclusion
Romans 3:9–12 is Paul’s final courtroom indictment beginning to close upon the whole human race. Jew and Gentile are both under sin. The Scriptures themselves testify that none are righteous, none understand, none seek after God, all have gone out of the way, all have become unprofitable, and none doeth good, no, not one. That is not a flattering diagnosis, but it is the true one. God does not save men by lying to them about their condition. He tells them the truth so they will stop trusting themselves. A gospel that begins with man’s goodness is false from the first word. The gospel of Christ begins with God’s holiness, man’s guilt, and the righteousness of God provided by grace.
This passage also protects the doctrine of salvation from every religious counterfeit. If none are righteous, then righteousness must be received, not achieved. If none understand, then revelation must correct human wisdom. If none seek after God, then God’s grace must seek the sinner. If all have gone out of the way, then Christ must be the way back. If all are unprofitable, then human merit cannot pay the debt. If none doeth good, then good works cannot justify the soul. Paul is not being negative for effect. He is clearing the ground so that when he says “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested,” the guilty sinner understands why that is the best news he has ever heard.
So let the verdict stand. None righteous. No, not one. That includes the pagan, the moralist, the Jew, the Gentile, the church member, the philosopher, the preacher’s kid, the religious teacher, the respectable citizen, the criminal, the scholar, the poor man, the rich man, the conservative, the liberal, the traditionalist, and the rebel. All under sin. But Romans does not stop at condemnation. It moves to justification. The same God who exposes universal guilt also provides righteousness through Jesus Christ. The sinner must stop pleading his own case, stop polishing his own record, stop comparing himself to other sinners, and stop trusting the lie of human goodness. The only hope for a race with none righteous is the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ.
Romans Verse-by-Verse Commentary
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Romans 1:1 Commentary – Paul, a Servant of Jesus Christ
Romans 1:2-4 Commentary – The Gospel Promised Beforehand
Romans 1:5–7 Commentary – Grace, Apostleship, and Obedience to the Faith