Romans 3:11-18 There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God; They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one: Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used 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 have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. [Romans 3:11-18]
The above verses from Romans are often quoted to bolster the claims of universal depravity / that no one ever seeks after God. In Romans 3:11-18 Paul draws on the book of Isaiah and the Psalms to show all have sinned, that there are none righteous. Note that he has used some wording from the Greek Septuagint [The LXX] as opposed to the Hebrew text, possibly because his Greek readers may not have been that familiar with the Hebrew. [It is believed that the LXX was translated from the Hebrew by Jews in Alexandria some 250+ years before Christ]. However if one examines the source of Paul’s quotes a very different picture emerges. The Psalms in question do not show that no righteous person has ever lived but often spoke of God’s protection and favor towards the virtuous people of that day. Taking the verses one by one… Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God; Derived from Psalm 14:2 “Jehovah looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, That did seek after God”.
Psalm 14 depicts the world as consisting of two types of people.. the fools or the wicked (Vs. 1-3) and the generation of the righteous (V.5) also called my people in V.4 and the poor in V.6. The wicked persecute the just, but the psalm expresses the hope that God will punish the wicked and reward the good. Certainly the first three verses of the fourteenth Psalm are somewhat moderated by the last three verses. The last three verses are telling us that the wicked are "in great fear" because "God is present in the company of the righteous."
Romans 3:12 They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one: Derived from Psalm 53:1. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity; There is none that doeth good”. Once more this Psalm divides people into two groups .. The workers of iniquity and my people “Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And call not upon God? [Psalm 53:4]
Romans 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; With their tongues they have used deceit: The poison of asps is under their lips: The first part of the verse is taken from Psalm 5:9, while the poison of asps [a serpent whose bite is deadly] is quoted literally from the Septuagint of Psalm 140:3. Wicked people in the Bible are often compared to serpents; Matthew 23:33; Genesis 49:17. The entire design of the psalm is to show a contrast between two kinds of people …. 1)The arrogant, the blood-thirsty, the liars and the deceitful that will not stand in God’s sight and that He will destroy.. “The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit”. [Vs. 5-6]
2) Those that love the name of the Lord ..the righteous ones that God will shield and protect. “But let all those that take refuge in thee rejoice, Let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: Let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee. For thou wilt bless the righteous; O Jehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield”. [Vs. 11-12]
Romans 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Probably from Psalm 10:7 although the apostle has not quoted this literally, but has given the sense. Again, as in previous instances, this Psalm goes on to talk of God hearing the prayer of the weak and oppressed. “O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear. To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror”
Romans 3:15-17 Their feet are swift to shed blood; Destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace have they not known: The quotation in these three verses, are abridged or condensed from Isaiah 59:7-8. The apostle has selected a few expressions out of many, rather making a reference to the entire passage, than a formal quotation. The expressions occur in the midst of a description of the character of the nation in the time of the prophet [See Footnote]. Isaiah was not describing the universal condition of man. [See Filthy Rags] “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no justice in their goings: they have made them crooked paths; whosoever goeth therein doth not know peace”. [Isaiah 59:7-8]
Romans 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. From Psalm 36:1. The word “fear” here denotes “reverence, awe, veneration.” There is no such regard or reverence for the character, authority, and honor of God as to restrain them from crime. However the thirty-sixth Psalm does not tell us that there were no righteous people in Israel. Verse 7 talks about those that take refuge under the shadow of His wings and will drink of the river of thy pleasures “How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; And thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures”. [Psalm 36:7-8]
The Question This section of Romans 3 has led many to believe that no righteous individual has ever lived. That there is absolutely nothing a man can do that is considered ‘good’. That all his righteousness is as filthy rags (Dealt with above) However Paul had to be very aware that the Psalms he quoted also speak of righteous people who were blessed by God when they behaved righteously and chastised severely when they turned from Him? How could Paul have possibly meant that no righteous person has ever lived, when he had to know that Scripture speaks of numerous righteous people. How could he possibly say that it is of no profit for men to live righteously when innumerable verses spoke of God’s protection and favor regarding the righteous. Why did he present one side of the coin and ignore the verses that speak of God’s support and favor for those who feared Him? One of the verses (Romans 3:15-17) is from Isaiah 59:7-8. However a similar situation exists when, in 64:7, Isaiah says [All Emphasis Added] “There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity”.
However a small sampling of what the Bible tells us.. For what great nation is there, that hath a god so nigh unto them, as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him? (Deuteronomy 4:7 ASV) I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies. (2 Samuel 22:4 ASV) Moses and Aaron among his priests, And Samuel among them that call upon his name; They called upon Jehovah, and he answered them. (Psalms 99:6 ASV) For then will I turn to the peoples of a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent. (Zephaniah 3:9 ASV)
The prophet had to be aware of the OT Scriptural references to people that called on the Lord and were even answered by Him, therefore verse 7 could not have been referring to all men of all time, but had to be referring to very specific people in very specific circumstances. [See Article on Filthy Rags] Similarly Paul also is talking in the context of a very specific topic.... Salvation.
Basics of Romans Romans is generally held to be written by Paul from Corinth to the Roman church about 56 or 57 A.D. There is a question as to whether the believers in the Roman church were largely Jew or Gentile. However It matters not, as Paul’s primary theme is the basic gospel, God’s plan of salvation and righteousness for all humankind, Jew and Gentile alike. The very purpose of the first three chapters [after the long introduction] is to show that no one, neither the Jew with the law, nor the Gentile without the law, can be justified in God’s sight. Paul surveys the spiritual condition of all people and shows that mankind comes up short. He systematically demonstrates that the Gentiles, the Jews and, in fact, all of mankind have the same condemnation… They are all sinners facing the wrath of God and in need of salvation. He makes the case that.. The Wrath Of God Is Revealed Against A. The Unrighteousness Of The Gentiles. [1:18-32] It is entirely possible for the Gentiles to know about God and his invisible qualities from his creation, so they have no excuse for not knowing about him. But their foolish hearts were darkened and they turned to idols.
B. The Unrighteousness Of The Self-Righteous. [2:1-16] Those who judge the sins of others, yet commit the same sins will not escape the judgment of God. They are storing up wrath against the day of wrath when He will render to every man according to his deeds. It is the doers of the law, not the hearers only who will be justified, which holds true even for Gentiles who do not have the written law that was given by Moses, but who have only the natural law that is written in their hearts.
C. The Unrighteousness Of The Jews. [2:17-3:8] The Jews had an advantage over all other people.. they had the law which made them confident that they were a guide of the blind, a light to those in darkness. However on the one hand, they boasted of God and of His law, and on the other hand they dishonored Him by breaking the same law. Paul tells the Jews that their circumcision is of little value to them unless they keep the law… The only circumcision that counts is the one of the heart. They will be judged by the law which they have obviously not kept.
D. The Unrighteousness Of All People. [3:9-20] It is here that we come to the verses in question and why Paul does not turn aside to answer the objection that the Bible speaks of righteous people, both as individuals and as a class. It is interesting that he picks out verses from the OT and puts them in an order that emphasize the human condition from top to bottom.. literally from head to foot. It is a sort of inventory of body parts [throat, tongue, lips, mouth, feet, eyes] corrupted by sin. Like the Pharisees, people cling to the old fig leaves of self-effort and self-righteousness to save them and Paul certainly goes out of his way to explain how neither Jew or Greek have any room to boast. He emphasizes our complete inability to save ourselves. While it is also possible that Paul was generalizing to an entire population that which was true only of a part of the population, it is more likely that like Isaiah, whom he quotes, he is dealing with a specific situation... Paul is quoting the Psalms in the context of his theme of sin and salvation. He is making the case that both Jew and Gentile have fallen short of the glory of God and are condemned... He isn’t saying is that no righteous individual has ever lived, but is emphasizing to his readers that when it comes to salvation no one comes even close to the mark… Not even the righteous ones spoken of in the other verses of the quoted psalms. Perhaps he does not particularly mention them since in the context of salvation because God does not demand goodness, He demands perfection! Their righteousness is not good enough to save them.
In the remainder of chapter 3, Paul then goes on to say that a way out has been provided by God. Because of what Jesus did, and only because of this, there is hope of salvation They are justified by His grace through Jesus Christ and his redemptive work on the cross… A gift of God which must be received by faith. In Romans 4 Paul talks about the all-importance of faith and gives the example of Abraham who believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.. In Romans 5 he states the manifold results of our being declared righteous by faith…. We have been saved from the wrath of God… we have peace with God and are confident of God's love for us… saved by Jesus’ resurrection. In Romans 6 Paul emphasizes that God's grace by no means makes us free to sin.. we have been freed from sin and will not allow sin to reign in our body nor to rule over us. Romans 7 tells us how God's gift of righteousness frees us from the law. Footnotes
The following commentary on Isaiah 65:3-4 is by Albert Barnes The whole scene here described by the prophet is one connected with idolatry and magical incantations; and the prophet means to rebuke them for having forsaken God and fallen into all the abominable and stupid arts of idolaters. It was not merely that they had eaten the flesh of swine, or that they had made broth of unclean meats - which would have been minor, though real offences - it was that they had fallen into all the abominable practices connected with idolatry and necromancy. Upon altars of brick - Margin, ‘Bricks.’ The Hebrew is simply, ‘Upon bricks.’ The command of God was that the altars for sacrifice should be made of un-hewn stone Exodus 20:24-25. But the pagan had altars of a different description, and the Jews had sacrificed on those altars. Some have supposed that this means that they sacrificed on the roofs of their houses, which were flat, and paved with brick, or tile, or plaster. That altars were constructed sometimes on the roofs of their houses, we know from 2 Kings 23:12, where Josiah is said to have beaten down the ‘altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the king of Judah had made.’ But it is not necessary to suppose that such sacrifices are referred to here. They had disobeyed the command of God, which required that the altars should be made only of un-hewn stone. They had built other altars, and had joined with the pagan in offering sacrifices thereon. The reason why God forbade that the altar should be of anything but un-hewn stone is not certainly known, and is not necessary to be understood in order to explain this passage. It may have been, first, in order effectually to separate his people from all others, as well in the construction of the altar as in anything and everything else; secondly, because various inscriptions and carvings were usually made on altars, and as this tended to superstition, God commanded that the chisel should not be used at all in the construction of the altars where his people should worship. Which remain among the graves - That is, evidently for purposes of necromancy and divination. They do it to appear to hold converse with the dead, and to receive communications from them. The idea in necromancy was, that departed spirits must be acquainted with future events, or at least with the secret things of the invisible world where they dwelt, and that certain persons, by various arts, could become intimate with them, or ‘familiar’ with them, and, by obtaining their secrets, be able to communicate important truths to the living. It seems to have been supposed that this acquaintance might be increased by lodging in the tombs and among the monuments, that they might thus be near to the dead, and have more intimate communion with them. Which eat swine’s flesh - This was expressly forbidden by the Jewish law Lev_11:7, and is held in abomination by the Jews now. Yet the flesh of the swine was freely eaten by the pagan; and when the Jews conformed to their customs in other respects, they doubtless forgot also the law commanding a distinction to be made in meats. Antiochus Epiphanes compelled the Jews to eat swine’s flesh as a token of their submission, and of their renouncing their religion. The case of Eleazer, who chose to die as a martyr, rather than give such a proof that he had renounced his religion, and who preferred death rather than to dissemble, is recorded in 2 Maccabees 6:19-31. See also the affecting case of the mother and her seven sons, who all died in a similar manner, in 2 Maccabees 7. Yet it seems that, in the time of Isaiah, they had no such devotedness to their national religion. They freely conformed to the nations around them, and thus gave public demonstration that they disregarded the commands of Yahweh. It is also to be observed, that swine were often sacrificed by the pagan, and were eaten in their feasts in honor of idols. The crime here referred to, therefore, was not merely that of partaking of the flesh, but it was that of joining with the pagan in idolatrous sacrifices. And broth of abominable things - It is not improbable that the broth or soup used here was in some way employed in arts of incantation or necromancy… Such things are known to have been practiced in regions of idolatry (see Marco Polo, De Region. Orient., iii. 24). ‘When the priests of the idol,’ says he, ‘wish to engage in sacred things, they call the consecrated girls, and with them, in the presence of the idols, they engage in the dance, and sing aloud. These girls bear with them vessels of food, which they place on the table before the idols, and they entreat the gods to eat of the food, and particularly they pour out broth made of flesh before them, that they may appease them.’ The whole scene here described by the prophet is one connected with idolatry and magical incantations; and the prophet means to rebuke them for having forsaken God and fallen into all the abominable and stupid arts of idolaters. It was not merely that they had eaten the flesh of swine, or that they had made broth of unclean meats - which would have been minor, though real offences - it was that they had fallen into all the abominable practices connected with idolatry and necromancy. | 
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