The three pastoral letters or epistles are books of the canonical New Testament: the First Epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy) the Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy) and the Epistle to Titus. They are letters from Paul the Apostle to Timothy and to Titus. They are generally discussed as a group (sometimes with the addition of the Epistle to Philemon) and are given the title pastoral because they are addressed to individuals with pastoral oversight of churches and discuss issues of Christian living, doctrine and leadership. While the title is not technically quite correct in that the Epistles do not deal with pastoral duties in the sense of the cure of souls, yet it is popularly appropriate as denoting the essentially practical nature of the subject matter as distinguished from the other Epistles attributed to Paul. The term "pastorals" was popularised in 1703 by D. N. Berdot and in 1726 by Paul Anton.

2 Timothy 4:7 Task Complete

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 glances back to Chapter 2 and the references in verses 4-6 to serving as a soldier competing as an athlete though probably not The hardworking farmer but the humble servant of verse 24. Paul can say in all humility that as death approaches, as for soldiering, he has fought the good fight, (the one he urged Timothy to fight well in, in 1 Timothy 1:18) he has finished the race and he has kept the faith as a humble servant. He has kept it well guarded. It must be wonderful thing to say such things as one draws near to the end of one's ministry. The only way it can happen, of course, is if today we fight and run and serve as we ought to. What an example Paul was to Timothy and to us too. The fight is against the flesh, the world and the devil, the race is to heaven along the track marked out by the Lord and the service required is to faithfully keep the true doctrines in our hearts without letting them fall to the ground and defending them from attack. All this is done only through the grace of the God Paul served and Timothy too.
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