there is no one who understands; there is no one seeking God.
Truth to Learn
We do not seek out God; He draws us to Him.
Behind the Words
The word translated “understands” is the Greek word suniēmi, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and hiēmi, meaning “to send” or “to put.” So literally this means “to send together” or “to put together.” It refers to someone mentally “putting it all together” or “understanding.”
“Seeking” is from the verb exzēteō. This is made up of ek, meaning “out” and zēteō, which means “to seek” or “to pursue.” Hence, exzēteō means “to seek out” or “to search diligently.”
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Paul declared the first of his great doctrinal statements of the book of Romans. This is the first statement of what some have come to call “The Romans Road.” The first step in the Romans Road is, “There is none righteous, no not one.” You will recall that this is a quote from the book of Psalms.
The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and have done abominable wickedness; there is no one doing good. God looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind, to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is no one doing good, not even one. (Psalms 53:1-3)
What Paul declared in the previous verse is that there is no one who is righteous in and of himself, or herself. There is no one in the human race (save for Christ Himself) who can stand in the presence of God Almighty and claim that he or she is righteous enough to deserve heaven.
In today’s verse Paul continues with his quotation, selecting a portion of Psalms 53:2. Not only is no one righteous, none of us understands what God wants from us. And today’s verse also tells us that none of us, left to ourselves, seeks after God. In fact, were it not for the drawing forth influence of the Spirit of God, none of us would be able to come to God. We don’t seek Him; He draws us to Himself.
The bottom line is that none of us deserves heaven or salvation. Not even one! In order for us to be saved, we must first realize that we are not worthy of salvation. We don’t deserve it, and there is no reason why God should grant it to us apart from His grace and His grace alone!
If you have never recognized your unworthiness for God’s free gift of salvation, now is the time to humble yourself before the mighty hand of God, confess your utter sinfulness, beg for His mercy, and accept His blessed gift of salvation through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Application
If you have already accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the payment for your sins, then you are righteous in His eyes. But you need to realize that without the illumination of the Holy Spirit you wouldn’t even understand what God wants from you. And, you need to recognize that you were drawn to Him; you didn’t come by your own effort.
Thank you Lord, for drawing me to Yourself, for allowing me to understand Your message, and for saving my soul!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved