ris3n's Apologetics Codex
Romans 5.10
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Passage

Romans 5.10

Book: Romans · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

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ASV

8. But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.

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;

  1. and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 12. Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:, (Romans 5:8-12, ASV)
WEB

8. But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.

10. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we will be saved by his life.

  1. Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 12. Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:8-12, WEB)
KJV

8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

  1. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. atonement: or, reconciliation 12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: for that: or, in whom (Romans 5:8-12, KJV)
YLT

8. and God doth commend His own love to us, that, in our being still sinners, Christ did die for us; 9. much more, then, having been declared righteous now in his blood, we shall be saved through him from the wrath;

10. for if, being enemies, we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved in his life.

  1. And not only [so], but we are also boasting in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom now we did receive the reconciliation; 12. because of this, even as through one man the sin did enter into the world, and through the sin the death; and thus to all men the death did pass through, for that all did sin; (Romans 5:8-12, YLT)

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Setting

  • Speaker: Paul the apostle
  • Audience: The believers in Rome, a church Paul had long wanted to visit but had not yet seen (1:10-13)
  • Location: Most likely written from Corinth, home of Paul's host Gaius (16:23; compare 1 Corinthians 1:14), and commending Phoebe of nearby Cenchreae (16:1), who probably carried the letter
  • Time period: C. AD 56-57, near the end of Paul's third missionary journey, as he prepared to take the collection to Jerusalem (15:25-26)

Theological reading

"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."

Much more. Verses 9 and 10 use the same argument twice, from the harder case to the easier. If God justified people by Christ's blood, "much more" will he save them from wrath (5:9). If he reconciled them while they were enemies, "much more" will he save them now that they are reconciled (5:10). The hard part is already done.

Enemies and reconciliation. "Enemies" (Strong's G2190) means hostile, not merely distant. "Reconciled" (G2644) is the word for restoring a broken relationship. In Paul it is God who takes the initiative: "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses" (2 Corinthians 5:19, ASV). The verse places that reconciliation "through the death of his Son," and the final salvation "by his life," the risen life of the one who "was raised for our justification" (4:25, ASV).

Love that comes first. The verse continues verse 8: "God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." The Islam vs the Christian God comparison sets this against the Quran's teaching on God's love. The Quran calls God al-Wadud, the Loving (85:14), and says he loves those who do good, those who repent, and those who purify themselves (2:222). It also says that he does not love the disbelievers (3:32). Muslims read this as God's love answering to faith and obedience, which is a coherent account of divine love. The Christian claim is different: God's love goes out first, to the hostile, and creates the reconciliation it seeks. See Atonement.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Arguments and defeaters:

Concepts:

People:

Lexicon:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.