Do not forget that chapter 3 is also a part of the whole epistle, which explained it more completely in chapter two.
Romans 2:
[6] Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
[7] To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
[8] But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
[9] Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
[10] But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
[11] For there is no respect of persons with God.
[12] For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
[13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
[14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
[15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
If your position is that men are saved by works, then the opposite is true. Chapter 1 and 2 of Romans deal with Paul's argument that both Jews and Gentiles (that is, the whole world) are condemned and cannot be saved because they are all found wanting. None of them can survive being judged by the covenant of works. It is strictly true that God will render to every man according to his deeds, and that the righteous will be rewarded, but all the world is guilty and there are none righteous, which is his argument in Romans 1 and 2:
"What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." (Rom 3:9-11)
Even the Christian, who has been transformed by grace, yet remains in conflict with the sin in his body, and thus falls short of justification according to the law:
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Certainly no wretched man can ever enter into heaven if God marks his iniquity. But man does not go to heaven based on his own merits, but on the imputed righteousness of Christ that comes by faith. Therefore salvation must be by grace, and if by grace, then no one receives salvation as a result of their labor, otherwise grace is no longer grace, and all men descend into hell without any hope:
Rom_4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Please argue with someone else. I'm done.
Romans chapter 3 is a contradiction to chapter 2...Chapter 2 tells us how it used to be and chapter 3 tells us how it now is...