2. _The Epistles of St. Paul:_ "St. Paul contrived, in a remarkable degree, to maintain a connection with the churches he founded. The care of all the Gentile churches (II Cor. xi: 28) he exercised not merely by occasional revisiting them, but by letter. Of the letters thus produced we possess thirteen. The originals have indeed naturally disappeared; they were written by amanuenses, and authenticated by the addition of a paragraph in St. Paul's own writing (Gal. vi: 11), or by his signature (II Thes. iii: 17). With the exception of the three pastoral epistles to Timothy and Titus, which are still questioned by some critics, the epistles ascribed to St. Paul in our New Testament are generally and justly received as his. These thirteen epistles all belong to the later half of St. Paul's ministry. The first eighteen years after his conversion give us not one epistle. In the year 52 or 53 A. D. the two epistles to the Thessalonians were written. Then follows another blank period till 58, when, within the space of one year, the four great epistles to the Corinthians, Galations, and Romans were produced. Again there occurs an interval of five years till 63, when the four 'Prison Epistles' appeared; and finally, yet another gap, until 66-68 A. D., when he sent the pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus. In the character of these groups there is a marked difference, while within each group the epistles belonging to it resemble one another. In the earliest group there is a reflection of St. Paul's preaching to the heathen, in which the second coming and the kingdom of Christ are in the foreground. The second group exhibits the doctrines of grace in conflict with Judaism, and also shows us in detail the difficulties Christianity had to overcome in the social ideas and customs of the Roman world. The third group is characterized by a calmer spirit, a higher reach of Christian thought, more constructive statements regarding Christ's person. In the fourth group we have chiefly instructions regarding church order, interspersed with passages of remarkable beauty and richness." (Bible Treasury, p. 135). 3. _The Pastoral Epistles:_ The Epistle to Timothy and Titus are called pastoral because they give directions for the training and governing of the churches, the proper treatment of individual members, old and young, official and unofficial, back-sliders and heretics. They treat of practical wisdom, warning and encouragement, rather than of doctrine.