Romans 3:9 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; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Paul sums up the plight of man, all are condemned, all are under the wrath of God. Both Jew and Gentile are condemned in themselves. Even the very elect of God need redemption. Paul is leading us to that very shedding of blood of the Lamb. By any characteristic, no Jew is more right in the sight of God than any Gentile. Paul has shown that:
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
He says all are under sin. All here means all. All fell in their father Adam. Using the pronoun we, Paul could be talking about his fellow Jews. He could also be talking about fellow Gentile believers. The fact is there is no man, either Jew or Gentile, that can earn righteousness. It took the Godman to do this. Paul wants us to feel our depravity, our helplessness before God. If you think you have any good in you then maybe God will see it. That is the thought of a lost sinner. God looks for no good in man because there is no good in man. There is none righteous.
Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 2 The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psalm 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.
Psalm 140:3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.
Psalm 36:1 The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
There are none that understand and none that seek Him. How much more blatant can Paul be. The Psalms paint the picture of how God sees man. Man has no chance outside of mercy and grace. If he did think he could satisfy God with works and at the same time does not understand God, how can he know what God would require? He does not know Him and does not seek Him. Man has chosen his own way which was not after God. All have become unprofitable to God. There are none that do good. Verse 13-18 is a description of the very nature of man. Outside of His Son, that is how God sees man. All are unprofitable. How can you look at this list of sins and think that one deserves to enter my kingdom. If it were not for the redeeming blood of Christ, none would have reconciliation with God.