Romans 3:10-12

as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." 
Romans 3:10-12 ESV

Paul now turns to the Old Testament to prove the fact that ALL men lack ANY good intentions - according to God's standard of good. He pulls quotes from several different Psalms to make his point, we will break down verses 10-18 according to the Psalms that Paul references. I think it will help if we briefly look at each Psalm, and then how God directs Paul to use the Psalm in context in his letter to the church in Rome.

These first three verses come from Psalms 14:1-3 and 53:1-3.

Psalm 14:1-3: 

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 53: 1-3:

 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.

As we can see, the first three verses in these two Psalms are nearly identical. The fact  that we would see the universal sinfulness of man laid out twice almost word for word in Old Testament is interesting. One thing I would like to clarify about the context of these Psalms - they describe "fools" who do not seek God. 

fool: stupid, wicked, or vile person. In context, the morality of a person is addressed.

These Psalms are describing man in his lost state, which parallels what Paul described in the first two chapters of Romans. We see here that everyone, everywhere, from the beginning of time, is included. We are all wicked and vile in the sight of God, until we are covered with the blood of Christ. 

Now, to Paul's references of these Psalms. I think it's interesting that God directed Paul to condense these verses from the Psalms, not quoting them word for word, but simple relaying the idea which makes the context very clear. Paul makes one point, EIGHT times in these first three verses!

1. None is righteous

2. no, not one

3. no one understands

4. no one seeks for God

5. All have turned aside

6. together they have become worthless

7. no one does good 

8. not even one.

It's impossible to argue, after reading these three verses, that Paul believed any human, apart from Christ, has the desire to do anything that would be considered good according to God's standards - including seeking after God. This is spiritual death, as referenced in Ephesians Chapter 2:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins Eph 2:1

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- Eph 2:4,5

Everything that has been recorded in the Bible is important, and sometimes things that are repeated at least twice are of special note. The sinfulness of man is not repeated just twice, it has been the underlying theme of Paul's entire letter to the church in Rome this far. Some things that we need to take away from this:

1. As Christians, we need to recognize our sinfulness. We were completely opposed to God in every way while lost, and He saved us from that darkness and confusion. Yet, we still battle the flesh that finds the darkness and confusion natural...we need to draw close to God so that He can reveal areas of our life that are still being hindered by that fleshly opposition to Him. 

2. As witnesses for Christ, it's important to learn from Paul's example. In order for anyone to see the value of what Christ did on the cross, the need must be conveyed. That's why Paul has shown just how sinful man is, and how much we all need forgiveness. We need to do the same, no one will come to Christ without first recognizing their condemnation without Him. 

3. For those who have yet to accept Christ - you remain in the category of the wicked and the vile. All attempts to be "good" apart from Christ are sinful in God's eyes. Those of us who have accepted Christ are no better than you, we are simply sinners saved by God's amazing grace! Accept Christ, and be covered by His blood, and know what it means to experience the peace that surpasses all human understanding...there is nothing in this life that compares!