For many, the greatest declaration of the Scriptures concerning the radical corruption of fallen man can be found in Romans 3: 10 – 12; however, upon closer examination, one quickly sees that the Apostle does not posit these truths originally. Rather, Paul does what all believers of God must do; he declares what holy writ has already made manifest. Paul in Romans 3 simply quotes two Old Testament passages that speak to the unwillingness of fallen man to even consider the things of God. Psalm 14: 1 – 3 says,
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. 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; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14: 1-3, ESV)
The Palmist is clearly teaching that the corruption of fallen man, the utter deadness of his soul renders him completely unconcerned with anything remotely associated with God or His revealed word. This verse stands as the testimony against the objection to God’s sovereign grace in salvation that asserts the question, “What if someone wants to be saved but is not one of the elect?” a straw man argument at best for this very reason; apart from the redemptive work of God, on one even considers God a worthwhile pursuit. The Psalmist explains here that this person simply does not exist. He starts by saying that those who are found in this dead, carnal state are fools. This is not a qualitative statement intended to demean the character of individuals as much as it is a declaration of the thought process of those who are apart from God. As the Psalmist will go on to say, their foolishness is a darkened perception of life that does not acknowledge God’s sovereign place as Creator and Lord of all things. As the fool says (a Qal active perfect), his saying is a purposed and intentional expression of the natural man’s belief that he is the center of the universe; that is, there is none other to regulate his thoughts and behavior. For the natural man in his foolishness, God simply does not exist. This is expressedly manifest in the Psalmist’s description of the outward behaviors of the utterly dead man; he is corrupted and abominable in his deeds. It is not simply that the lost do such deplorable things. Rather their rebellious behavior is the product of their nature. This idea is further highlighted as the Psalmist speaks to the lack of ontological “goodness” in the lost. There are none who do good. This failure to do anything of spiritual good is further explained in verse two. The Psalmist speaks to the fact that there is no knowledge of God within the mind of the corrupted man. The opponents of this particular view are quick to defend the fallen man as not being responsible for his actions due to ignorance. However, upon closer examination, ignorance does not excuse rebellious behavior. First off, the Psalmist establishes the sovereign rule of God by indicating that God “looks (Hifil active perfect) down” from heaven. This is not a looking out of ignorance or an unawareness of those who are somehow doing good but just not seen. Rather, the picture is of God surveying His kingdom as a monarch would review those who have received an audience before him. God reviews His creation to adjudicate whether His subjects are actually living in fidelity to His rule. What God exposes during this divine review is that there are not any who understand (Hifil active participle). The use of this term probably could be better translated by the phrase “acting wisely” indicating the repetitive use of God’s precepts in everyday living. With this rendering, the focus shifts from simple ignorance of the standard to a willful disobedience to the standard so much so that the standard is not even under consideration when making normal decisions. The Psalmist further explains that there is none who seek after God. The term “seek” (Qal active participle) means to inquire, to be sought, studied, read and reread or meditated upon. It is clear from just the simple definition that the natural, lost man is not engaged in any of these behaviors as they relate to God. He may spend innumerable hours in pursuit of worldly things but will not lift one finger to seek after God. In response to this willful ignorance of God, the natural man has no guide to regulate his actions. Verse three illustrates this principle as the Psalmist returns to the declaration that the fallen man does no good. Here the natural man is shown to be one who has “turned aside” (Qal active perfect) or more specifically, rebelled or even apostatized. What is in play here is that the natural man in his dead foolishness turns his face away from those things that are only for his benefit and does not recognize anything that does not line up with his perception of reality. Since in his mind “There is no God” anything of God does not meet with his approval or recognition. As a consequence, the natural man once again does not even consider the things of God. The Scriptures teach that it is not a matter of fallen man being unaware of the things of God as if he were away on vacation only to return home and find his house had been broken into during his absence. Rather, fallen man has a full awareness of the things of God and just does not care. No one seeks after God. No one cares to. Of all the sinful activities of fallen man, the lack of concern for God is the clearest indication of man’s hostility toward God. To this topic attention will now be turned.
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