What does it really mean?
Romans 3:10-11 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.
We can narrow the field quite handily by eliminating what Augustin and then the Reformers had to say about it.
The Presence of the Righteous: If you keep reading Psalm 14, David explicitly states in verse 5 that "God is with the generation of the righteous." Chronister points out the logical flaw in the Augustinian reading: if Psalm 14 literally meant that not a single human being on Earth can ever do good or seek God in any capacity, David would be contradicting himself four verses later by speaking of "the generation of the righteous."
Pastor Stephen A. Chronister (of Cliffside Community Chapel in Anchorage, Alaska) approaches Romans 3:10–11 by placing Paul’s words firmly in their original Old Testament context and reading them through a Christocentric, non-Calvinistic lens.
In his verse-by-verse teaching, Chronister directly challenges the Augustinian/Calvinistic doctrine of Total Depravity (the claim that fallen humans are spiritually "dead" to the degree that they are entirely incapable of seeking God or responding to the Gospel without prior, irresistible grace).
Here is how Chronister breaks down and exegetes this passage to refute fatalistic theology.
## 1. Restoring the Old Testament Context (Psalms 14 & 53)
The central pillar of Chronister’s exegesis is pointing out that Paul isn't constructing a systematic dogma about human inability—he is quoting Hebrew scripture (*a string of Old Testament passages, or catena*). Specifically, Romans 3:10–11 directly quotes **Psalm 14:1–3** (and its parallel, **Psalm 53:1–3**):
> *"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' ... The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside..."*
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Chronister highlights two key insights from this context:
* **Poetic Hyperbole vs. Ontological Inability:** David is describing the state of the *wicked fool* and the practical atheist who lives as if God doesn't exist, using Hebrew poetic hyperbole to emphasize how pervasive sin is in a corrupt society.
* **The Presence of the Righteous:** If you keep reading Psalm 14, David explicitly states in verse 5 that *"God is with the generation of the righteous."* Chronister points out the logical flaw in the Augustinian reading: if Psalm 14 literally meant that not a single human being on Earth can ever do good or seek God in any capacity, David would be contradicting himself four verses later by speaking of "the generation of the righteous."
## 2. Paul’s True Argument in Romans 3
Augustinian and Calvinist frameworks interpret Romans 3:10–11 as an assertion that human free will is entirely destroyed regarding spiritual matters. Chronister refutes this by pointing to Paul’s actual thesis in Romans 1–3:
* **Jews and Gentiles Are Equally Under Sin:** Paul’s objective in Romans 3:9 is establishing that **both Jews and Greeks are all under sin**. Jewish listeners believed their heritage and possession of the Torah exempted them from condemnation.
* **Using the Law Against Self-Righteousness:** Paul quotes the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) back to a Jewish audience to prove that their own Scriptures condemn human self-righteousness. Paul’s point isn't "you physically cannot choose God," but rather "your legalism and heritage cannot save you, because by the standard of the Law, no one measures up as righteous."
## 3. Debunking Augustinian/Calvinist Fatalism
Chronister uses this exegetical foundation to dismantle several key assumptions of Reformed fatalism:
### A. The Absurdity of the "Command to Seek"
If "there is none who seeks after God" were an absolute, unchangeable law of human metaphysical inability post-Fall, God’s repeated commands across Scripture—such as *"Seek the Lord while He may be found"* (Isaiah 55:6)—would be nonsensical or disingenuous. Chronister emphasizes that God does not command people to do what He actively prevents or pre-ordains them from doing.
### B. Free Response vs. Divine Pre-Selection
Reformed theology asserts that God unconditionally pre-selects who will respond to the Gospel and leaves the rest incapable of responding. Chronister rejects this, teaching that God’s grace is genuinely offered to all and that humans possess genuine moral agency to accept or reject God’s revelation. Sin distorts human nature and makes us prone to straying, but it does not reduce humanity to puppets governed by fatalistic pre-determination.
### C. Left to Ourselves vs. Drawn by Grace
Chronister notes that *left entirely to our own self-righteous devices*, humanity does not seek the true God—we construct idols or glorify ourselves. However, when God reveals Himself through His Word, Creation, and the Holy Spirit, individuals are enabled to respond. The phrase "there is none who seeks" describes humanity’s natural direction apart from God's initiative, not an insurmountable barrier that requires irresistible pre-determination.
> **Key Takeaway:** Chronister demonstrates that Augustinian Calvinism misapplies Paul's Old Testament quotation. Paul uses Psalm 14 to indict self-righteous legalists and show that all people need a Savior—not to teach that God pre-selects who goes to Heaven or Hell while stripping humanity of the a
bility to seek Him.
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