none righteous

In the defense of the depravity doctrine, Romans 3:9-18 is often treated as a summary of man’s innate condition – proof that humanity is corrupt from birth and incapable of seeking God or doing any spiritual good. However, a disciplined analysis of Paul’s argumentative structure, a contextual reading of his chain of Old Testament quotes, and careful attention to the language of the text yield a different conclusion. Paul is proving universal guilt, not defining universal inherited inability.