Romans 3:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

First he presents David as the accuser, who describes at length what Isaiah expressed briefly. He places a strong bridle upon them, the Jews, so that they may not escape. He also does this so that every hearer being instructed in the faith, sufficiently convinced by the accusations of the prophets, may not turn aside. The prophet points out three great defects. He says that all without exception did evil, that they mixed no good with evil but gave themselves over to vice alone, and finally, that they did evil with complete persistence.

For the Jews, to say no more, sinned just as the Gentiles did. Whence is this clear? From the prophets, namely David and Isaiah. The passage beginning, “There is none righteous, no, not one,” and ending, “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness,” belongs to David (Ps 13:3, 5; 9:28; 139:4). Further, as soon as someone turns aside from the good, he immediately becomes useless. For evil is nothing other than the perversion of natural impulses toward the good. Therefore, by stirring a man toward what is contrary to nature, it makes him useless. Nature no longer uses him, just as it does not use the sick in carrying out its works.

But He mixed all together and placed the Gentiles with the Jews, so that He might declare both to be under sin. Indicating this, he says, “Their throat is an open grave; with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully,” and so forth (Ps 13:1-3).

Having already been caught by evil, they would, if the opportunity arose, also desire to devour the good. For just as a grave stands open to receive corpses, so their throat is open against the good. The Apostle speaks this way because the words of such people are a trap. They speak in order to deceive. Like a serpent whose venom pours from its mouth, slander and falsehood flow from their mouths.

The divine Apostle, as we have already said, intends to prove that the becoming man of our God and Savior Jesus Christ took place by necessity.

For this reason he spoke about those who lived outside the law and those who lived under the law. He showed that the former transgressed the natural law, while the latter transgressed the Mosaic law, and that both deserve the severest punishment.

In this he imitated the best physician, who first lets the sufferers see the gravity of their illness. Only afterward does he offer the healing medicine as help.

So also the Apostle, having exposed the lawlessness of both groups, showed that they are answerable and worthy of punishment. Then at last he offers the medicine of faith and reveals the love for mankind in the divine economy.

“What then? Do we have an advantage?” Do we possess an advantage? The advantage indicated in Rom 3:2 remains a real advantage of the Jews.

It even serves as the foundation for the advantages in which the Jews so greatly boasted, such as circumcision and descent from Abraham.

The Apostle now asks whether this advantage gives the Jews any right to justification before God. He answers: by no means, not at all.

To confirm his words, he cites a whole series of testimonies from the Old Testament. By them he proves that there was not a single man among mankind who could do anything good by his own strength.

At the same time he notes that what is said applies to the Jews themselves, since they are under the law.

Having restored the dignity and meaning of the Jewish advantages as an external gift of God, the Apostle returns again to the Jews themselves. He comes to the following final conclusion.

“What then? Do we, the Jews, have an advantage in the matter of justification? Not at all. For we have already proved that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.”

The words of Scripture on this subject follow (Rom 3:9-18).

As for the law, the most conspicuous advantage of the Jews over the Gentiles, it is precisely this that increases their responsibility and guilt.

For “the law, whatever it says, speaks to those who are under the law,” and by no means to the Gentiles.

Thus every mouth is stopped. There can be no question here of Gentile mouths. And all the world becomes guilty before God.

“For by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before Him, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom 3:19-20).

Looking at the Hebrews not as guardians of God’s promise, but as sinful men, the Apostle finds that in this respect they do not differ from the Gentiles. They are no less sinful than they.

He proves this by many passages of Holy Scripture. These speak of the great sinfulness of mankind and apply equally to Gentiles and Hebrews.

From this it naturally follows that, if all are considered morally and according to works, no one can be found righteous. Those clothed in sinful flesh cannot perfectly perform all the works of the law.

Yet according to the law, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all the words of this law, to do them” (Deut 27:26).

The law is the indicator of sins of every kind. Therefore no sinful person can be justified before it in anything.

The first half of the verse is taken from Psalm 5, verse 10. The second is from verse 3 of Psalm 139 (Ps 5:10; Ps 139:3).

“Their throat is an open tomb.” What is within is also on the tongue. Their speech is always about what they devise, what they delight in, and where all their plans are directed.

Since depravity and lack of goodness prevail there, the same things rule in their conversations.

An open tomb spreads stench and makes known that a human body is decaying in it.

Likewise, the tongue of one who has turned away from God and fallen into depravity and malice spreads the stench of impiety, depravity, and wickedness. It shows that his soul is decaying under the disintegrating action of the passions.