John Calvin Commentary Romans 3:18

"There is no fear of God before their eyes." — Romans 3:18 (ASV)

In the last clause he repeats again, in other words, what we have noticed at the beginning — that every wickedness flows from a disregard of God: for as the principal part of wisdom is the fear of God, when we depart from that, nothing right or pure remains in us. In short, as the fear of God is a bridle to restrain our wickedness, so when it is lacking, we feel at liberty to indulge every kind of licentiousness.

And so that these testimonies do not seem to anyone to have been inappropriately presented, let us consider each of them in connection with the passages from which they have been taken. David says in Psalm 14:1, that there was such perverseness in men, that God, when looking on them all in their different conditions, could not find a righteous man, no, not one.

It then follows that this evil pervaded mankind universally, for nothing is hidden from the sight of God. He speaks indeed at the end of the Psalm of the redemption of Israel, but we shall soon show how men become holy and how far they are exempt from this condition.

In the other Psalms he speaks of the treachery of his enemies, while he was exhibiting in himself and in his descendants a type of the kingdom of Christ: therefore, in his adversaries, we have the representatives of all those who, being alienated from Christ, are not led by His Spirit.

Isaiah expressly mentions Israel, and therefore his charge applies with still greater force against the Gentiles. What, then? There is no doubt that the character of men is described in those words, so that we may see what man is when left to himself, for Scripture testifies that all men who are not regenerated by the grace of God are in this state.

The condition of the saints would be no better if this depravity were not corrected in them. And so that they may still remember that they do not differ from others by nature, they do find in the remnants of their flesh (by which they are always surrounded) the seeds of those evils. These evils would constantly produce fruits if they were not prevented by being mortified; and for this mortification, they are indebted to God’s mercy and not to their own nature.

We may add that, though all the vices enumerated here are not found conspicuously in every individual, they may yet be justly and truly ascribed to human nature, as we have already observed on Romans 1:26.