Sometimes a preacher’s mind will work in mysterious ways. This is one of those times.
In November 1986, the Georgia Satellites band released a single called “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” The lyrics were about a girl who firmly refused to get physically intimate with her boyfriend until they were married. In the song, she kept saying to him, “Don’t give me no lines and keep your hands to yourself.”
First of all, what a great set of lines for a girl to say to any boy to whom she is not married. Lay down the law and stand your ground! But that’s not the point of this article (although a good point).
As a preacher, I’ve also thought of the application of these words as they could be spoken by a child of God to the devil. Can you imagine, as we strive to “resist the devil” (Jas. 4:7), if we said to the evil one every time he tempted us to sin, “Don’t give me no lines and keep your hands to yourself”? Again, a great point, but not this article.
For whatever reason, these lyrics sometimes go through my mind when I am having a Bible study with someone. Yes, you read that right. But not those exact lyrics.
Whenever I have a one-on-one Bible study with someone, I always strive in our first study to establish the foundation of the Word of God as the absolute, supreme and universal authority for everything that we say and do—including everything that is taught in the study. I will invariably tell the person—as we underscore the Divine origin, all-sufficiency and complete-authority of Scripture—“I don’t want you to believe anything that I tell you! I want you to believe what the Bible says! My thoughts and my opinions don’t matter one bit, and they shouldn’t be a part of this study!”
That’s when the words to this song will sometimes come to mind. I don’t ever say it out loud, but sometimes I think that the person I’m studying with should be saying to me, “Don’t give me no lines and keep your thoughts to yourself.”
And isn’t that the truth? God tells us to “preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15), to “preach the Word” (2 Tim. 4:2), to “preach Jesus” (Acts 8:35). Christ alone has “all authority” (Matt. 28:18), and His “words” will “judge” us in the end (John 12:48), not the words of any person or preacher. There are no other thoughts (Acts 26:9), words (1 Pet. 4:11) or gospels (Gal. 1:8-9) for anyone to add into a Bible study (Rev. 22:18-19). It is Christ and His word that will save (Acts 4:12; 11:14) and not the thoughts or ideas of any man!
So, demand the Bible and the Bible alone! “Don’t give me no lines and keep your thoughts to yourself.”