Romans 3:9-18 // Who are the Goodies?

Based on Romans 3:9-18


9 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;
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.


So having just addressed the issue of whether it is right for God to judge sinners that play into his hands, and the issue of whether there is any advantage in being born into a Bible-believing family; we return to the issue of the need of all people for a saviour. Knowing the truth helps me to be saved, but knowing the truth does not save me. Approving of the law helps me to be saved, but approving of the law does not save me.
Paul affirms that he has demonstrated in the previous verses that all humans are under sin. What does it mean to be under sin? The Hebrew Scripture references are useful to help understand this concept.
There are no righteous people, no, not one. There is none that understands, none that seek for God. They have all gone off the right path, they have become useless (in the overall scheme of things), there is none that does good (is that generic or absolute? from this scripture alone I cannot tell), no not one. They kill people with their words (you can kill people spiritually with your words), they trick people with their words, they kill people with their words. Cursing and upset words gush quickly from their mouth. They get exited about fighting and goriness. Their lifestyle leads to destruction and misery. They have never experienced a life of peace. They don't care about God.
Most of these come from the Psalms, and Jesus is an exception to the universality of sin, when it says "not one" this was written before Jesus and does not apply to him. That is my reading of it.
Paul uses a lot of Bible references, this is a big point, which the Jews had trouble accepting. Today we have swung in the opposite direction; we have given up on the concept of being holy and accepted sin as a part of life. But sin is the way of death, and being corrected by God's laws and his servants is the way of life.  For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: (Proverbs 6:23)
Look at God's law, try to live by it; you will find that you need Jesus. Allow Jesus to be your teacher, reproving and instructing you and you will have life.