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Romans 3:10-20
Paul has been laying out his case against the unbelieving Jew, so that they could see that they were no
different from the unbelieving Gentiles, concerning their unrighteousness. Both practiced sin as a way of
life, and both were therefore subject to the wrath of God. Both would experience Gods righteous
condemnation in the final judgment.
Paul had been particularly tenacious as he pressed his charges against the Jew, for the Jew would be
inclined to excuse himself, based on his heritage and religious practices. Paul made it plain that neither
being a Jew, nor the Law, nor circumcision would afford any protection for the Jew from judgment by God
for his sin.
Paul took great pains to consider even the rebuttals that a Jew might offer to his statements. What was the
advantage of being a Jew, or being circumcised, if it didnt protect them from judgment? Paul showed that
the advantage was that the Jews had the entire OT revelation the oracles of God which contained the
types and prophecies concerning Christ.
The Law was to be their tutor, to bring them to Christ (Gal 3:24) if the Jews were willing to be led to
Him. That was a great advantage.
And Paul showed that Gods judgment on the individual unbelieving Jew would in no way nullify Gods
covenant with Israel, which was made to the nation collectively. Each Jew must make the personal choice
to believe into the One who was the subject of that covenant, for Life Everlasting Christ. And until the
nation does that as a collective, they will not experience their covenant blessings.
And finally, Paul dispelled the ridiculous idea that God should spare the Jew, since his sin indirectly
glorified God, in Gods righteous judgment of it. The motive of the Jew in sinning was certainly not to
glorify God; it was to pursue his own lusts and desires. And, as Paul pointed out, how could a righteous
God judge the world, if He did not judge sin?
So in preemptively responding to these rebuttals which the Jew might pose, Paul demonstrated that the Jew
was no better off than the Gentile, in terms of judgment for sin.
The accusations that Paul has been leveling at the Jews and the Gentiles, and the fact that God will judge
them for their sin, evoke the image of a courtroom scene. What we will see is that this scene comes into
sharp focus today, as Paul completes his case against both the Jew and the Gentile.
Lets continue now in our letter. Were going to include verse 9 again in our reading, which we looked at
last week. This is the conclusion to Pauls previous charges, a conclusion that Paul goes on to prove
through the Scriptural support he supplies next, which well be looking at this week.
[Read Romans 3:9-20]
Back in verse 9, Paul uses the term, previously charged in the NKJ. This is a legal term used to designate
a person who has been previously indicted for a given offense. The Gentile was indicted by Paul in chapter
1; the Jew, in chapter 2.
Paul is painting the picture here a courtroom scene. And who is the judge, in this courtroom? God is the
judge. Who are the accused? The Gentile and the Jew. Do we have a prosecuting attorney? Yes that
would be Paul.

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So Paul, having laid out the charges against the Jew and Gentile, now presents the evidence. Thats what
we find in verses 10-18. This is the evidence from Scripture that proves Pauls charges.
Then in verse 19, Paul makes it abundantly clear that this evidence applies to both the accused; the Jew, and
the Gentile. The case is airtight; the accused have no grounds to mount their own defense. At the end of
verse 19, Paul then pronounces the verdict of the Judge; and what is that verdict? Guilty!
And then lastly, in verse 20, Paul shows that there can be no appeal to this guilty verdict on the basis of the
accused performing the deeds of the Law. Its an open and shut case.
Now, before we take a closer look at Pauls evidence against the Jew and the Gentile, I want to point out
something in verse 9. Do you know that this is the first time in Pauls letter that he has actually mentioned
sin? You might think, How could that be? Thats all hes been talking about.
Its true that Paul did mention Jews and Gentiles each have sinned, back in chapter 2, verse 12; and, in
speaking for the Jew, Paul did say, why am I also still judged as a sinner?, in verse 7 of this chapter.
But this is the first time that he actually mentions sin itself; not sins, but sin, singular. Theres significance
to this. Paul has catalogued the sins of both Jew and Gentile, and has spoken of them sinning; but here,
Paul is introducing the thought of sin itself as a concept; not specific sins, but the principle of sin.
Later in this letter, Paul will take this principle further, as he personifies sin, showing it to be like a
tyrannical king, that rules over men.
Even here, Paul is beginning to show forth sin in this way. In verse 9, Paul says that unbelieving Jews and
Gentiles are all under sin, meaning they are under its power, its influence. And as we get to the end of our
passage today, Paul will again allude to sin in a similar way, as he speaks of men coming to know sin
through the Law.
The Scriptures that Paul quotes in verses 10-18 are intended to demonstrate this very idea: that all
unregenerate men are under sin; that is, under its power.
Paul begins his proof with the words, It is written. The verb written in the Greek is in the perfect tense.
This indicates the continuity and permanence of what was written, and implies its divine authority.
What was written is true; it has always been true; it will always be true, for all men, for all time. And it is
true, because God says it, in His Word. Thats His written revelation, that He has given to men;
specifically, to the nation Israel.
The actual texts that Paul chooses are selections of verses and passages from the OT Scriptures. Is this just
a randomized sampling, supporting Pauls point? Far from it.
Instead, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has deliberately strung these Scriptures together in
such a way as to demonstrate both the utter domination of sin over men, as well as the universal aspect of
that domination. Well take a look at that pattern, shortly; but first, we need to briefly consider the
quotations in their context.
Well begin in verse 10.

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v. 10-12 This quotation is taken from Psalm 14 (Psalm 53 has an almost identical passage). Paul does not
quote the entire psalm, nor even every word of the passage it was taken from; but other than that, in the
Septuagint, what he does quote is virtually identical, with the exception of one word that he was inspired to
change; well discuss that later. It was not at all unusual in Pauls day for Scripture to be quoted in this
way.
Lets turn back to Psalm 14 to get these verses in their context. What I want you to focus on is who the
psalmist is talking about; what people. Is he speaking of the Jews, the Gentiles?
[Psalm 14]
v. 1-3 You can see that these verses are the beginning of Pauls quote in Romans. Do you see that the Jews
Israel, Gods nation is mentioned in these verses? No. The Gentiles the other nations? No.
What is mentioned, in verse 2? The children of men. Does that include everybody? Yes. The psalmist is
speaking of the unregenerate children of men; sons of Adam. So does that demonstrate Pauls point that
unregenerate men sin, universally? Yes.
Now, picture the assemblies in Rome, listening to Pauls letter; and the Jews, or former Jews, in the
audience, with their knowledge of the Scriptures. They would like to say that this is actually just a portrait
of the Gentiles; and they would use the rest of the psalm to support that. Lets read it.
v. 4-7 The Jews would point to the psalmists references to the people (v. 4, 7), and to Israel, and to Zion
(v. 7), and say theyre the righteous of verse 5; therefore the unrighteous in verses 1-3 must be the
Gentiles.
But the psalmist David is speaking of a particular generation of the righteous (the generation of the
righteous, v. 5).
This is a prophetic psalm of the remnant of Israel, who will, in the end, believe into their Messiah to
become righteous, and be saved by God from their enemies. And their salvation will come out of the Great
Tribulation, when all the fools on the earth will be saying, there is no God (v. 1). During that fiery trial
that will try the whole earth (Rev 3:10), two-thirds of Israel will perish (Zech 13:8) most of them, in their
sins.
In the end times, when those who dwell on the earth are tested, unrighteousness will be found among both
Jews and Gentiles. So Paul is correct to use this psalm to show that all men, apart from God are under sin.
Davids thought here is not Jew versus Gentile; its the righteous in contrast to the unrighteous; and the
collective in Adam is unrighteous.
[Return to Romans 3]
Now, as I mentioned before, Paul significantly changed one word in his quotation of Psalm 14, from the
Septuagint. That word is in the first part of the first verse, in Romans, verse 10.
In the Septuagint, it reads, There is none who does good, no, not one. What did Paul change? He
changed who does good to righteous; There is none righteous, no, not one.
Is that at all different? It is. To speak of one who does good is to speak of his works; but to speak of one
who is righteous is to speak of the person, himself; whats in his heart.

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So under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul is introducing a slightly different nuance into this psalm;
and well see the reason, shortly. Now, even though this is a new meaning, it is certainly an accurate
thought, and a reasonable extrapolation of the psalm.
Proverbs 23:7 says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he; that is, a mans actions reflect whats in his
heart. If there is none who does good, it follows that there cannot be any who are righteous, in their hearts.
It may also be that Paul was thinking of a verse found in Ecclesiastes: For there is not a just (ie, righteous)
man on earth who does good and does not sin (Eccl 7:20).
Now, what would be the reason why Paul changed this word? Because he is beginning in the beginning
with the heart of man. Born sons of Adam, mens hearts are unrighteous; they have no desire to do Gods
will, but only their own.
Paul continues with the psalmist, there is none who understands. The inner man is a person of spirit being.
It is in his spirit being that man can have the eyes of his understanding enlightened by the Holy Spirit:
Spirit being to spirit being. But man must desire to be enlightened; and as a collective, the sons of Adam
are not willing. Their foolish hearts remain darkened.
And there is none who seeks after God. To look at all the religions in the world, it would seem that
unregenerate men are very much seeking after God; but not the true and Living God. They are seeking a
god of their imagination, one who will validate their unrighteousness as righteousness, who will accept
them, just as they are and even reward them for it!
In their hearts, the sons of Adam have, as a collective, turned aside. God has provided for all men a way
into His presence, through faith in His Christ; the one and only way to become righteous, and receive Life
everlasting. And God has shown men the Way through His revelations to men; through the gospel in the
stars; through His written Word.
But unregenerate men are not willing to come Gods Way. Why? Because they want to go their own way,
so that they can pursue whats in their hearts; their own lusts and desires. And men insist that their way is
good; that its right. After all, there must be many ways to God, right? The Preacher says, There is a way
that seems right to a man, but what is its end? Death (Prov 14:12).
The collective in Adam have together become unprofitable; that is, they are collectively useless to God.
God has a plan for His creation of mankind: to become His righteous sons. But if men will not come to
God through faith in His Christ, they cannot fulfill the purpose for which God created them; and in the end,
that fits them for nothing but destruction (Rm 9:22) a destruction they have chosen for themselves.
And finally, Paul says, with the psalmist, there is none who does good, no, not one. Out of that unrighteous
heart inevitably comes unrighteous practices. Paul now goes on to show some of them.
v. 13-14 In these verses, Paul has taken selections from three psalms, which we will look at, momentarily.
What is common, to each statement? Throat; tongue; lips; mouth. They are all involved in speech. Paul is
bringing out that all men sin in what they say.
The beginning of verse 13 is from Psalm 5. Lets look at that together. This is another psalm of David. He
is asking the LORD for protection from his enemies. Look again for the contrast in the psalm; is there a
contrast between Jew and Gentile?

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[Psalm 5] David is asking the LORD to protect him from his enemies. Does David indicate his enemies are
Gentiles? No; what he says about them is that they are unrighteous; wicked. David is trusting that the LORD
will bless him in his (Davids) righteousness, and shield him from his enemies. Sometimes those enemies
were found right within Israels ranks (eg, King Saul, 1 Sam 18:29; Sheba the Benjamite, 2 Sam 20).
Paul took his quote in Romans from the Septuagint version of verse 9.
What does it mean to say their throat is an open tomb or sepulcher? Well, a sepulcher is where they put
dead bodies. What happens to those bodies, after they die? They begin to decay to rot to stink. Now, if
the sepulcher was open, it would emit the foul stench of corruption, which bears testimony to the fact that
whats inside is dead.
Thats what the throat of the unrighteous does. The throat leads down into the depths of the inner man; into
his heart, so to speak. And emanating out of that throat is air which is the force, the impetus behind
mans voice. Just as the throat propels the voice, the motives of mans heart propels his words.
Jesus said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the
evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks (Lk
6:45).
So what comes out of the unrighteous hearts of men, in Adam? Unrighteous words; which are enunciated
into flattery and deceit, by their tongues. Is this true of all unregenerate men whether Jew or Gentile?
Yes; which is Pauls point.
Turn to Psalm 140; another of Davids psalms, which Paul cites in Romans.
[Psalm 140] Do you see the same pattern? David, asking God to deliver him from his enemies; the
contrast of the righteous with the unrighteous. In verse 3, we find Pauls quote: the poison of asps is under
their lips.
Now, the asp is a particularly poisonous serpent. Its venom is stored in a sack under the upper lip, at the
root of its hollow fangs. When the asp strikes into flesh, the poison is pressed out into the wound. Its
poison rapidly spreads through the system, producing death.
This is how David characterizes unrighteous men, who plan evil things in their hearts, and attempt to bring
about the demise of others through their evil words.
Now turn to Psalm 10, where we find Pauls quotation concerning the mouth (Rm 3:14). Although this
psalm is not specifically labeled with an author, it is part of the collection of the psalms of David; and it
definitely sounds like his writing. Were just going to look at the first seven verses.
[Psalm 10:1-7] It is verse 7 which Paul quotes. Again, we see the contrast between the righteous and the
wicked. Here we have the complete, outer organ of speech; the mouth, which is filled with evil words.
And what does that reflect? The unrighteousness of the heart.
[Return to Romans 3]
Throughout verses 10-14, Paul has used Davids words concerning the wicked to show that out of the
unrighteous hearts of both the Jews and the Gentiles issue forth unrighteous words; thats the power of sin,
acting on them. Now as Paul continues, we see that its more than just their words.

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v. 15-17 From the mouth in verse 14, Paul has moved on to the feet and then on to the ways of
unrighteous men. Where is he going? He is going from words to deeds. This is the conduct that comes
out of the heart of the unrighteous.
The quotation that Paul cites here shows that he is doing an abrupt change of course. He is leaving the
psalms of David behind, and venturing into Isaiah. Lets follow him, and see what he has in mind. Turn to
Isaiah chapter 59. Well be looking at the first eight verses.
[Isaiah 59:1-8]
v. 1-2 First, we need to establish who the prophet Isaiah is speaking to; who is the you? Well, if we go
back to the previous chapter, we can clearly see it is the whole house of Jacob (Is 58:1, 14); Gods nation;
the Jews, in Pauls day.
Isaiah says that the LORDs hand is not shortened, that it cannot save His people. That is to say, He can
easily reach them, to lift them out of their calamities. And His hearing is still perfectly intact; the LORD
hears them, when they cry out to Him.
So whats the problem? Theyre the problem. Their sin has separated them from God; they have departed
from Him (v. 13), and God cannot override their freedom to choose this.
So the LORD must allow them to experience the consequences of their own choosing. They have refused to
come under the wings of the LORDs protection. This leaves them exposed to their enemies.
v. 3 Isaiah begins to catalogue the sins of the nation. Hmmm.. its beginning to sound a lot like what
David has been writing in the psalms about all the unregenerate sons of Adam.
It would seem Israel is no different; which is Pauls point. Lest the Jews try to evade Davids words, by
viewing them as for the unrighteous Gentiles only, Paul is bringing in Isaiahs words here, specific to the
nation itself, to drive home the universal aspect of sin.
In terms of the bloodshed and the lies, Isaiah may be referring here to all of the political intrigue that had
been going on at this time between Israel to the north, and Judah to the south for these were the days of
the divided kingdom.
Israel had made an alliance with Syria against the rising menace from Assyria for Israel had never trusted
in the LORD, since they broke long ago from Judah. Well, Judah refused to join Israel and Syria, and when
those two issued threats, Ahaz called on the king of Assyria for protection refusing to put his trust in the
LORD to protect Judah. The actions of Ahaz precipitated the Assyrian invasion and conquest of the northern
kingdom of Israel, taking them into captivity (722 BC).
The idea of this political conspiracy is even more pronounced in the following verses.
v. 4-5 Here we see all of the rulers as they scheme. The idea with the vipers eggs is the hatching of evil,
deadly plots. The spiders web gives the idea of ensnaring ones enemies. And there is the usual lying, one
kingdom to another what we call diplomacy today (!)
v. 6 Their webs will not become garments. What does a garment do? It clothes the body; a garment
protects it. Isaiah uses the graphic illustration of a spiders web as a garment a flimsy covering, full of
holes, that is easily brushed away.

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What Isaiah is saying is that all of their negotiations and plans to protect themselves will fail. The LORD is
and always will be His peoples protection; and apart from Him, His people are exposed. Their work to
protect themselves just serves to compound their sin for it demonstrates their distrust of the LORD, as well
as being done at the expense of others.
This is what Paul is quoting in part, in Romans.
v. 7-8 The thought of feet running to evil, of making haste to shed innocent blood, is that they never
counted the cost; they felt the end justified the means. And what was the end that the rulers expected, from
all of their intrigue? Peace. But there can never be peace without righteousness.
Both Israel and Judah had both turned out of the way that led to life everlasting; the way that seemed right
to them was a crooked path of unrighteousness that led to their own destruction.
This passage will have a far-fulfillment in the end times, when the nation will once again try to protect
themselves by entering into a peace treaty orchestrated by the little horn beast prince. But it will be a
false peace; he will break it (Dan 9:27).
Isaiah goes on in this chapter to prophesy that the nation will repent of their sins (vv. 9-15a) and then the
LORD Himself will deliver them (vv. 15b-21).
But as for Paul, his point is to ensure that the Jews find themselves in his Scriptural proof that all are indeed
under sin.
[Return to Romans 3]
So Paul has proven that all are universally under sin in every respect in thought (v. 10-12), word (v. 1314) and deed (v., 15-17). He summarizes with a final proof.
v. 18 Paul is quoting Psalm 36 here. We will not go back there, but suffice to say that this is another psalm
of David, which follows the same pattern we have seen in the others quoted here: a contrast between the
righteous and the unrighteous.
The unrighteous do not fear God. We can see two sides to this. They do not give God the glory and honor
He is due; as the Creator, as the Redeemer. In fact, as we read before, they are fools, who say in their
hearts, There is no God (Ps 14:1). Men are living as if God does not exist.
And they compound their foolishness, in that they do not fear His righteous judgment. Men actually defy
God. But He is the true and living God; and He will judge them, in the end.
So in the courtroom of the Gods justice, Paul has now submitted his irrefutable evidence. His next
statement makes it clear that this evidence applies to both of the accused.
v. 19 Paul says this, lest the Jew be inclined to try to excuse himself from the Scripture quoted as if it
applies to the Gentile, only. Paul uses the term law here, which speaks of the book of the Law the
Pentateuch as standing for the whole body of Scripture.
The Scripture that Paul has just quoted particularly speaks to those who are under the Law. Now, who is it
who are ruled over by the Law? The Jews. Paul is saying, This is not just speaking about the Gentile; it
especially speaks to you, the Jew.

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And since the evidence can be applied to both; and that evidence is iron-clad, being Gods Word then
every mouth is stopped; every mouth is silenced. There can be no rebuttal to Gods Word; there can be no
defense, when accused by it. And so what does Paul declare to be the verdict, for both the Jews and the
Gentiles? GUILTY AS CHARGED!
And lest the Jew, in his last religious gasp, think that maybe, somehow, he could appeal that verdict based
on anything he could do for God, Paul extinguishes that false hope for him.
v. 20 It is not the Gentile who would be inclined to think he could be justified by the deeds of the law; that
would be the religious Jew; so Paul is continuing to speak of the Law of Moses, which the Jews were
under; the Law was the governing influence in their lives.
The Jew was just as guilty as the Gentile of sin; and no matter how many of the deeds of the Law the Jew
did, they could not undo that guilt, and justify themselves before God. In fact Paul introducing the
thought here God gave the Law for an entirely different purpose than justification. And what was that?
That by it, the Jew might have a knowledge of sin. Again, sin is in the singular here; this is not specific
sins, but the concept of sin.
By the Law is the knowledge of sin. The Greek word for knowledge, epignosis, involves a more thorough
participation in the acquiring of the knowledge on the part of the learner.
By the Law of Moses, the Jew came to experience that he was held captive by sin; that he was subject to its
power; and that he couldnt free himself from it, but that he needs to be made free of it, in order to be
pleasing to God.
Although it is the Jew that Paul is particularly singling out here, the concept is universal. Even the
Gentiles, with the righteous requirements of God written in their hearts (Rm 2:15) come to the
understanding that sin holds them in its power, through their repeated transgressions.
Every man experiences that stranglehold of sin, crushing them in its relentless grip, pinning them directly
under the condemnation of a righteous and holy God.
Paul has painted the blackest of pictures of the condition of mankind, apart from God, hasnt he? But that
dark truth is the perfect backdrop for the ray of hope that we will see him shine into the courtroom next
week the true Light that gives light to every man (Jn 1:9).
Next week: Read Romans 3; 1 Pet 1:1-12; Ex 25:1-22; Lev 16.