"When we were enemies" (Rom.5:10a), "... Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6).

These verses describe all people before they receive the good news of salvation in Christ, by faith in His death for them; we were God's enemies, at enmity against Him! Paul wrote, "When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son." (Rom 5:10).

But how can anybody who is "good" be considered a "religious enemy" of God?

Many can't swallow the idea that they as so called "good people" should be called ungodly enemies of God. So I can hear many so-called good religious people saying, "Me, ungodly, I'm God's enemy? Don't charge me with being an ungodly enemy of God. I'm a religious person, I go to church regularly, I even give to the church."

Gross sin is not the only sin... the greatest and most subtle sin is to rely upon our self in place of what Christ has done for us.

I know that many "religious" people would object to what the Bible says of them. But unsaved people can still be "religious." The fact is that many religious people are unsaved. Perhaps 999 out of 1,000 people are "religious," but that's not the point. Religion, in its negative sense, is based upon man's self-effort. The point is that you are in fact ungodly if you rely upon how good you think you are. When you rely upon your self-goodness to qualify you to be saved then you at the same time are rejecting God's gift of salvation that is only available through faith and reliance upon Christ's cross. It is only by totally relying upon Christ's selfless offering of His life on the cross that one who believes can be seen as "righteous" before God.

"[Therefore, I do not treat God's gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose];

I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if (my) justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [my observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.] (Galatians 2:21 (AMP)

So then, by one's reliance upon their self-effort makes them an "enemy of God," being opposed to His provision of salvation by Christ's cross. In your mind you may not consider yourself an enemy against God. You are certainly an enemy against the God of the Bible that bears the good news of the cross, The Bible does not your "self-effort" as the good news, but rather as being as being ungodly.

Despite all this God still sends His genuine believing ambassadors out to offer reconciliation to all His enemies everywhere — "by the death of His Son." Think of it! We who believe are reconciled to God, not by some effort or payment offered by us to placate God, but "by the death of HIS Son." Jesus bore the enmity of His own creatures mocking Him, spitting in His face and nailing Him to a cross. Its in the face of this that God's extended His grace to us!

And this is not all, for the whole passage reads as follow.

"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be (eternally) saved by His life (given for us).

"And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (Lit., permanent reconciliation)" (Rom.5: 10-11).

God has reconciled His enemies to Himself by the death of Christ, for those who trust in Christ alone. So where is the boast?

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The argument of this passage is that if, as His enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more "being reconciled," we may be assured that our living Savior will keep us safe. And not only are believers safe in Christ, but all the while we "joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received," not only help in our helplessness, or the forgiveness of our sins, but "the reconciliation," by which we are brought nigh to God and experience His love toward us.