You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. 1 Corinthians 10:21-23 ESV
This is very similar to when Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other..." (Matthew 6:24) Have you ever sat at the table of demons and partook of the cup of greed, or taken a sip from the chalice of lust? Have you sought satisfaction in any source other than the Lord? I am sure that we all have on some level. Thankfully, because of the great sacrifice of Christ, His blood purifies us from all unrighteousness and enables to us to live free from these stumbling blocks. This is why "All things are lawful," because there is no sin that the blood of the Lamb cannot cleanse from our souls - but as Paul said in Romans,
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2 ESV
So then, let us not provoke the Lord to jealousy, and seek only those things which build up. You can rest assured that if you have dined at the table of demons, should you cry out to Him, His blood will make you white as snow, but this is no reason to continue in our sins. As we draw close to Him and find satisfaction in Him through "drinking the cup of the Lord," dining at the table of demons, although still a temptation, will soon lose its hold on our lives. If we truly know Christ and allow Him to fill up our souls to the point of overflowing, the empty pleasures of this world lose their glamor as the deceptions of Satan are revealed for what they are by the Light of Christ. (And if they do not, the question may need to be raised,: Do we truly know Him?)
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 ESV
Cheers!
Andrew
