What is a doxology? A doxology is an expression of praise to God. The following is an excerpt from a message entitled The Doxology of the Cross by Pastor P.G. Matthew.
“We have been considering the history and theology of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Christ was crucified in time and space, and we studied that historical event as recorded in all four gospels. The theology of the crucifixion means the interpretation of Christ’s death as given by Jesus and his apostles. We learned that Christ’s death was for the ransom for the elect of God; that Christ died for our sins; that Christ was made sin that we might become the righteousness of God; that Christ was made a curse that we might receive the blessings of Abraham; and that Christ’s death was a propitiatory sacrifice, one that turned God’s wrath away from us and caused the Father to be propitious and gracious toward us.”
“We learned that the cauldron of God’s wrath against us was poured out in its totality upon his only beloved Son on the cross, leaving nothing to be poured out upon us for whom he died. Christ suffered all our hell and punishment. In Isaiah 53 we are told that “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,” and “the punishment that brought us peace was upon him” (Is. 53:6, 5). Jesus Christ was punished, but we are given peace. He was wounded, but we are healed and saved. He was judged, but we are justified.
Now we want to consider the doxology of the cross. What does that mean? It is the application of redemption in the lives of God’s elect. It is the praise and honor that redeemed sinners render to God as a result of our understanding of the cross.
God’s people give him glory because he saved them. On the cross Jesus Christ secured salvation for all those who would repent and believe for him. He died for his people, meaning all those whom the Father gave him to save. He loved the church, we are told, and gave himself up for her. And St. Paul says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. . . . and those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” (Rom. 8:29, 30).
God’s people are enabled by the Father to come to Jesus Christ for salvation, and this salvation is sure and complete. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37), and “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44). He said, “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life,” from the realm of death into the realm of life everlasting (John 5:24). The cross, therefore, brings life, peace, justification, and healing to some, and they are the ones who praise God. That is the doxology of the cross.
Not everyone believes in a dying Jesus for salvation and praises God. When Jesus hung on the cross, the vast majority of people mocked and reviled him. What were the taunts of the passers-by? “You who were going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In other words, they were saying, “Jesus, since you are still up there, you must be a false messiah. You are not the Son of God. You are a blasphemer, not a savior!” Was there doxology coming from their mouths? Not at all. Why? They were not the elect of God. They were not included in the Father’s donation to the Son (John 17).
Did the church leaders–Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, the elders, scribes, and theologians–praise God? Not at all. They also mocked Jesus. First they said, “He saved others,” and at least they acknowledged that much. But they continued, “but he cannot save himself! He is the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Jesus received no praise from the Jewish establishment.
What about the Gentile soldiers? They also joined the passers-by and the Sanhedrin to mock Jesus the dying Christ. What about the two thieves? We are told in Matthew and Mark that at first both thieves mocked Jesus and heaped insults upon him even in their own hour of death. They did not glorify God. There was no doxology coming from the mouths of any of these people.
But then God sent the miracle of darkness and the miracle of the earthquake–the darkness that lasted three hours long and the earthquake that ripped open stone tombs. As the Roman centurion witnessed these things and the calm and majestic way Jesus was suffering, and as he listened to Jesus’ words: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” and “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” he believed in Jesus. Luke says he praised God, saying, “Surely, this was a righteous man,” and we are told in Mark that he declared, “Surely this was the Son of God.” Here, then, we see doxology coming from the lips of an unlikely candidate–a Gentile centurion. This man praised God, confessing that Jesus is the Son of God, the righteous one. What was this centurion really saying? That Pilate, Rome, and the Sanhedrin were wrong in condemning Jesus. He was filled with a new understanding that Jesus was all he claimed to be–the innocent one, the righteous one, the Son of God, the true King of Israel.
Jesus knew that his death would bring about the salvation of Gentiles. In John 12 we are told about some Gentiles who came to see Jesus, and this is what he said: “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). In John 3:14-15 he declared, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Everyone! And so we see a centurion, a Gentile, enabled and drawn by the Father to come to the Son. He who executed the will of Pilate by crucifying Jesus now made the true confession of faith: “He is innocent. He is the Son of God,” and praised God. This is the doxology of the cross.
We must realize that the history of crucifixion is necessary, but that history alone will not save us. Theology of crucifixion is necessary but that theology alone will not save us. There must be doxology which comes only from a heart that believes in Jesus who died on the cross in behalf of us.
What about you? It is never too late. While you are living, there is hope for you if you repent and trust in Jesus alone. Jesus tells us to look unto him and be saved, all the ends of the earth. You should not delay putting your trust in Jesus. Your children should not go out without trusting in Jesus. Jesus came to save us, and he will save us even now if we do not remain impenitent, hardhearted, stubborn, and loving sin and its pleasure. The real reason people do not want to trust in Jesus Christ is because they want to sin. There is no other reason. The reason is not an intellectual one but a moral one.
May God help us to understand the cross! May we pray to his Son, saying, “Remember me and be gracious to me. Have mercy on me, a sinner. I know that I must stand before God the Judge, but you are the mediator. Have mercy on me and forgive my sin. I believe that you died on the cross for me also–even for me. Clothe me with your righteousness that I may enter into paradise.” May we thus be drawn by the Father, drawn by Christ, and enlightened by the Holy Spirit that we may also enter into paradise when we die!
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost..
Soli deo Gloria!
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