Description
The Apostle Paul preaching in the synagogue of Damascus. Paul was a Jewish rabbi and persecutor of Christians until he became a Christian. While before this point all of the Christians were of Jewish background, God sent Paul to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. It was Paul who set out the theology that Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ as their Lord and Savior are equal in the eyes of God, "for God shows no partiality." (Epistle to the Romans, 2:11) Paul preached this message of righteousness by faith throughout the Mediterranean, persecuted by Jews and Gentiles alike. Besides his preaching, he expounded this message in writing in several of the books of the New Testament (Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, in particular). If even the Jews, who were originally the sole inheritors of the promises to God, are no longer exceptional, then how could the Russians be?