COURAGE TO DEFY LOGIC
by Erwin Bourne—March 31, 2002
It doesn’t make sense! And just who decreed that?
Science! The science of the normative formal
principles of reasoning. That’s just what I thought.
Everyone knows better. But there are those who are
forced to a decision apart from and in opposition to
reason. They have the courage to defy logic!
Paul didn’t belong to the age of reason! ”Come and
see him for yourself. Peer into the Roman prison. —A
bent and frail old man shackled to the arm of a guard.
Behold the apostle of God! Nearsighted and worn
out…. And he doesn’t sound like a champion either.
His heart is heavy. His pen drags across the page:
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body of death? It took a hero like Paul—in the
most abject misery—to defy logic and write: Thanks be
to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! Can you
understand Romans, chapter 7? Saint Paul could.
Faith and courage are near kin. By faith Abraham,
when called to go to a place…obeyed and went, even
though he did not know where he was going (Hebrews
11:8 NLT). Faith defies logic! obedience defies
logic! Courage defies logic! Let’s study briefly a
very difficult incident in Paul’s third missionary
journey—Acts 8 through 14. Paul was on his way to
Jerusalem when he encountered prophets of God who
tried to change his plans.
Philip the Evangelist had four unmarried daughters who
had the gift of prophecy. We are not told what they
prophesied. During Paul’s stay at Caesarea, a man
named Agabus who also had the gift of prophecy arrived
from Judea. He took Paul’s belt to bind his own hands
and feet. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares,
‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the
Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and be turned over to the
Romans (v. 11). Paul’s companions also begged Paul
not to go to Jerusalem.
The Apostle said, “Why all this weeping? You are
breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be
jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of
the Lord Jesus. When no one could persuade Paul, they
said, “The will of the Lord be done” (v. 13, 14).
Where is logic? Were the prophets in the Spirit? Or
was Paul stubborn? His courage defied all logic!
—Erwin and Jean Bourne