Romans 3:10
10 As [kathos] it is written [grapho], [hoti] There is [esti] none [ou] righteous [dikaios], no, not [oude] one [heis]: KJV-Interlinear
10 as
it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; ESV
Paul quotes from Psa. 14:1-3, and Psa. 53:1-3, which
both say essentially the same thing. Among humanity, there is no one who is
righteous. This is of course common
among all of humanity, with one exception, who is Christ.
But in Pauls argument, that the Jews had no advantage
or preference over the gentiles.
The Jews had failed in the Law that God had given
them, but also, the gentiles had failed in the common sense law that God had
given them. Thus all have failed, and
therefore all are dependent on God, or in need of God, in order to be saved.
Mans works, mans good deeds, mans efforts, all fall
short of getting him to a level of perfection and purity.
Man has no sincerity, no integrity, nothing that would
qualify him or bring him anywhere close to having a righteous life.
Man, whether Jewish or gentile, is a failure as far as
righteousness in concerned.
And in order to be saved, mans sins need to be cleaned
away first. Man cannot accomplish that
himself. Therefore man needs someone else, someone who is perfect, to clean up
mans mess.
And there is no one who is perfect except God. And so God became man, in order to prove His,
Jesus’, qualification, and thus pave the way for mans salvation.
