John Calvin Commentary Romans 5:10

"For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life;" — Romans 5:10 (ASV)

This is an explanation of the previous verse, amplified by introducing a comparison between life and death. He says we were enemies when Christ intervened for the purpose of propitiating the Father. Through this reconciliation we are now friends; since this was accomplished by his death, much more influential and efficacious will be his life. We therefore have ample proofs to strengthen our hearts with confidence concerning our salvation. By saying that we were reconciled to God by the death of Christ, he means that it was the sacrifice of expiation by which God was pacified towards the world, as I have shown in the fourth chapter.

But the Apostle seems here to be inconsistent with himself. For if the death of Christ was a pledge of divine love towards us, it follows that we were already acceptable to him; yet, he now says that we were enemies. To this, I answer that as God hates sin, we are also hated by him insofar as we are sinners. However, as in his secret counsel he chooses us into the body of Christ, he ceases to hate us. But restoration to favor is unknown to us until we attain it by faith.

Therefore, from our perspective, we are always enemies until the death of Christ intervenes to propitiate God. And this twofold aspect of things should be noticed. For we do not know the gratuitous mercy of God other than as it appears from this—that he did not spare his only-begotten Son, for he loved us at a time when there was discord between him and us.

Nor can we sufficiently understand the benefit brought to us by the death of Christ unless this marks the beginning of our reconciliation with God. This beginning occurs when we are persuaded that by the expiation that has been made, he who was previously justly angry with us is now propitious to us. Since, then, our reception into favor is ascribed to the death of Christ, the meaning is that guilt, to which we would otherwise be exposed, is thereby taken away.