Moroni 10:32 is an if-then statement: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."
A friend of mine, Keith Walker, has compared this verse to the common example of vegetables and dessert! "If you eat all your vegetables, then you get to have some dessert." Many of us have heard this saying when we were young. Now we all want to have God's sufficient grace but according to this verse, it is not for everyone. His grace is only for those who have denied themselves of all ungodliness and loved God with all their might, mind and strength. So who does this apply to? Has any honest person really denied themselves of all ungodliness? Has anyone purged themselves of all covetousness and evil thoughts? Have you loved God with all your strength? If you have prayed for 30 minutes, could you have prayed for 40 minutes? If you have given to the poor, could you have given more? If you have fasted for 3 days, could you have fasted longer? Have you given all? According to this verse, are you going to receive God's sufficient grace? If you are honest, you are probably going to say no. Will our own works ever be enough? If we continue looking at our own good works, we are going to be disappointed. Our only hope is to fix our eyes on Christ and depend on his complete work on the cross. Isaiah 53:5 says, "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
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