Romans 3:9–20 (KJV)
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.
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.
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Summarized Philosophical View
Human reason, detached from divine revelation, cannot lead man to righteousness or truth. Paul unveils the moral and intellectual collapse of fallen humanity—no one seeks after God because sin has disordered both the will and the mind. The law exposes this corruption, not to condemn reason itself, but to show its insufficiency apart from grace. Revelation alone restores light to a darkened intellect.
“There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” — Romans 3:11 (KJV)
Apologetic Devotional
Paul’s diagnosis of the human condition is comprehensive and devastating. All humanity—Jew and Gentile alike—stands guilty before God, not only morally but rationally. “There is none that understandeth.” Sin is not merely a failure of conduct; it is a failure of understanding, a corruption of reason’s capacity to perceive truth. When the intellect is divorced from God, it loses its coherence, and man becomes blind to the very light that gives meaning to all things.
J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig explain this collapse with precision: “Sin is both a moral and epistemic disorder; rebellion against God darkens the intellect so that reason becomes a tool of self-deception.”. Fallen man still reasons—but now he reasons toward falsehood. His logic becomes an engine for rationalizing sin, not revealing truth. Thus, the Enlightenment’s boast of autonomous reason proves itself an echo of Eden’s lie: “Ye shall be as gods.”.
Norman Geisler underscores this truth: “Finite, fallen reason cannot reach infinite, holy truth without revelation; unaided reason ends not in light, but in the labyrinth of skepticism.”. Every attempt to construct a purely human morality, from secular humanism to materialist ethics, collapses into contradiction. The law of God—whether written on stone or on conscience—exists to show this futility. “That every mouth may be stopped.”
Alister McGrath writes, “The law reveals both the moral beauty of God and the moral bankruptcy of humanity.”. The purpose of revelation is not to flatter man’s intellect but to humble it—to make him see that salvation begins not with reason discovering God, but with God revealing Himself to reason. The gospel does not discard intellect; it redeems it by grounding it again in divine truth.
C. S. Lewis observed the same in his apologetic critique of moral relativism: “When we cease to believe in the Lawgiver, we do not find freedom but the end of meaning; for without a standard, reason itself dissolves.”. To deny God is to deny the very conditions that make reasoning possible. Man, in rejecting revelation, cuts himself off from the source of light, and his intellect wanders through the ruins of his own rebellion.
Michael Wilkins adds a pastoral insight: “Paul’s intent is not to destroy confidence in reason but to restore it through revelation; when the law exposes sin, it prepares the mind for grace.”. In other words, the law acts as a mirror showing both our moral and rational corruption, driving us to seek cleansing in Christ. Faith is not irrational—it is reason purified by repentance.
Romans 3:9–20, therefore, silences every boast of human autonomy. The problem is not that reason is evil, but that it is estranged from its Source. Every worldview that seeks truth apart from God ends in confusion because it begins in pride. Only divine revelation—culminating in the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ—can restore reason to its rightful throne under God’s authority.
For this reason, Paul’s conclusion remains the foundation of Christian apologetics: “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” Until man confesses his ignorance, he cannot receive illumination. Until he acknowledges his guilt, he cannot be justified. Revelation does not suppress reason; it resurrects it.
Supporting Scriptures:
Jeremiah 17:9 | Proverbs 1:7 | John 3:19–21 | 1 Corinthians 2:14
Reflection & Response
- How does recognizing the limits of human reason deepen your appreciation for divine revelation?
- In what ways can you show that Christianity restores the unity of truth, morality, and reason in a fragmented world?
Sources
- Moreland & Craig, p. 419: “Sin is both a moral and epistemic disorder; rebellion against God darkens the intellect so that reason becomes a tool of self-deception.”
- Geisler, p. 540: “Finite, fallen reason cannot reach infinite, holy truth without revelation; unaided reason ends not in light, but in the labyrinth of skepticism.”
- McGrath, p. 164: “The law reveals both the moral beauty of God and the moral bankruptcy of humanity.”
- Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book I, ch. 5: “When we cease to believe in the Lawgiver, we do not find freedom but the end of meaning; for without a standard, reason itself dissolves.”
- Wilkins, p. 203: “Paul’s intent is not to destroy confidence in reason but to restore it through revelation; when the law exposes sin, it prepares the mind for grace.”