This past weekend at The Crossing, someone stopped me before the class I was about to teach and said something to this effect: “Atonement. Redemption. I’ve heard these words a lot. But what do they mean?”
I’m glad he asked the question, because I’m convinced that this is a common experience in Christian contexts. We come across the words often enough, maybe in a worship service or a small group study, or even reading the Bible on our own. And we know they’re important. But we’re just not always sure what they mean.
In fact, this is to be expected. Almost any organization or particular field of study contains specialized language. And that language allows us to convey important concepts in a quick and concise manner. That is, as long as we know what that language means. If we don’t, understanding and appreciating what’s being communicated can be much more difficult.
Enter the Crossing Explainer: a short blog post defining a key term associated with the Christian faith. For the inaugural post, let’s look at one of the terms mentioned above: redemption. (And even if you think you’re familiar with the term, you may find it richer than you realized.)