Romans 3:10

as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one;

'As it is written' -'The scriptures endorse this fact plainly enough' (Phi). Here Paul cites six O.T. passages which prove his point. These were from the utterances entrusted to the Jewish nation. Someone might argue that such passages were referring to wicked Gentiles, in verse 19 Paul will answer that argument, by pointing out that the 'Law', spoke to those under it, i.e. these passages were talking about Jews!

'There is none righteous'. Psalms 14:1.

'Not one' -but someone might say, but didn't the O.T. contain 'righteous' people? Like Noah, Abraham, Moses, the prophets?. think we realize that such men were not perfect keepers of the law, that ultimately their 'righteous' condition was tied to the future sacrifice of Christ. (Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 11:40; Hebrews 12:23) Note: The atheists in Psalms 14:1 are not philosophic atheists. They are pragmatic atheists (Romans 14:2). They are "acting" as if God doesn't exist, and hence no punishment will come upon their evil deeds.. lot more of these kind of atheists exist, even in the church.