J.A. Matteson
Beware of an attitude of entitlement that temps you to sin while suffering an injustice. "And if it is with difficulty the righteous is saved...." (1 Pet. 4:18). Satan knew the entitlements due Jesus Christ as the Son of God, tempting Him three times to illegitimately lay claim to what was His in order to bypass the ordained suffering as the Lamb of God prescribed by His Father. Faith is continually tested and refined in the furnace of external affliction and internal temptation. The pilgrims way is narrow and difficult. Along your journey there are countless temptations to overcome, a multitude of sinful passions to mortify, many sufferings to endure and difficulties to rise above. Faithfulness requires constant vigilance. As saints we must become aware of the voice of demonic temptation in our heads. We feel ill treated, abused, wronged in some way. It is in that setting Satan tempts us with a sense of entitlement to alleviate our suffering or to unjustly claim our entitlement, "I'm justified to feel this way after what he did to me!" This is the intersection where the pilgrims pathway becomes extremely difficult, increasingly narrow and steep. And then those around you chime in as Satan's instruments of unrighteousness further tempting you to claim that to which you feel entitled. Pray, beloved, pray fervently that the grace of God will uphold you to know the right and choose it. Apart from God's grace you will give way to temptation. By God 's grace nothing will be impossible for you, daily mortifying the flesh with its inclination to wickedness, working out your salvation with reverence and thankfulness. The victory is yours in Christ Jesus and in Him alone. Behold the cross and do not divert your attention from it and Christ will uphold you in your suffering.
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