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NASB | 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error]. |
Bible Question: Was Saul from Tarsus a fighter? Did he use his fists? |
Bible Answer: Would you believe, Willie, that Paul was the heavyweight boxing champion of Jerusalem in A.D. 64? I hope not, because there is no definite indication in Scripture that Paul was a pugilist, although as Saul of Tarsus and a persecutor of the Way (the early Christians), he admits to being "a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor" (1 Tim. 1:13). Later as Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ, he was a fighter but of an entirely different sort. "I have fought the good fight," he told Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:7 -- "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." But Paul was speaking of the same kind of fight that he instructed Timothy to engage in when he said, "Fight the good fight of faith" (see 1 Timothy 6:12). Welcome, Willie, and please revisit us. --Hank |