Romans 3:18 (DRB)

Passage

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Nearby Context

Romans 3:16 Destruction and misery in their ways:

Romans 3:17 And the way of peace they have not known.

Romans 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law speaketh, it speaketh to them that are in the law: that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be made subject to God.

Romans 3:20 Because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified before him. For by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "fear", "before", and "eyes". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "fear" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And the way of peace they have..." into verse 19's "Now we know that what things soever...", so "fear" and "before" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "fear" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.