**2020 Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies
**When reading the book of Romans, we often focus on the quotable
passages, making brief stopovers and not staying long enough to grasp
some of the big ideas it contains. Instead of raiding Paul's most famous
letter for a passage here or a theme there, leading New Testament
scholar Beverly Roberts Gaventa invites us to linger in Romans. She asks
that we stay with the letter long enough to see how Romans reframes our
tidy categories and dramatically enlarges our sense of the gospel.
Containing profound insights written in accessible prose and
illuminating references to contemporary culture, this engaging book
explores the cosmic dimensions of the gospel that we read about in
Paul's letter. Gaventa focuses on four key issues in Romans--salvation,
identity, ethics, and community--that are crucial both for the first
century and for our own. As she helps us navigate the book of Romans,
she shows that the gospel is far larger, wilder, and more unsettling
than we generally imagine it to be.