I am always glad to receive a question from a Read the Hard Parts reader about a hard part of Scripture. Recently, a reader asked about Matthew 6:15 which says, “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” What does this verse mean? Does it mean that if I am a Christian, but I don’t forgive someone, my salvation is lost? There are several things to consider when looking at this passage.

Context of Matthew 6:15

Matthew 6 is in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount which Jesus gave to his followers to explain what a righteous life looks like. Self-righteous religious people were focused on outward acts to demonstrate righteousness. In this passage, Jesus turns what they know on their heads but saying, “you’ve heard it said this, but I tell you that.” This verse is in the context of that sermon. Jesus is describing the righteous life. A righteous life is a forgiving life.

Definition of Forgiveness

A righteous life begins by trusting Christ as your Savior since you cannot achieve the righteous life from your own hard work. According to the Moody Bible Commentary, by definition forgiveness cannot be earned. The Bible Knowledge Commentary further says that God’s forgiveness is not based on one’s forgiveness of others. It is something freely given.

Since our forgiveness cannot be earned, it is not a prerequisite to justification. That would be contrary to what Scripture has to say about forgiveness and justification. We are saved when we trust or believe in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. Therefore, most of the commentaries I looked at said the condition of forgiveness in Matthew 6:15 is a matter of fellowship with God, not justification.

The Importance of Forgiveness

All those who said it is a matter of fellowship with God were sure to emphasize the importance of forgiveness throughout Scripture. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” In Matthew 18, Jesus gives us the parable of the unmerciful servant to show in story form how vital forgiveness is to the Christian life. In the same passage, Jesus says we are to forgive seventy times seven times. In other words, there is no end to forgiveness. It’s ingrained in the Christian way of life.

Assurance through Forgiveness

F.F. Bruce in his Hard Sayings of Jesus book took a different approach to the interpretation of Matthew 6:15. He says, “the meaning is unambiguous, and it is unwise to try to avoid its uncomfortable challenge…If some of those to whom this admonition was addressed (and it is addressed to all Christians at all times) should persist in an unforgiving attitude towards others, could they even so enjoy the assurance of God’s forgiveness? If Jesus’s teaching means what it says, they could not.”

In other words, if a Christian declares “I will never forgive that person,” we should rightly question what impact Christ’s forgiveness has had on the Christian. This is definitely a hard part of Scripture! I get squirmy when I hear about passages like these that give license to fruit inspecting other Christians. However, on second glance at the passage, this isn’t for fruit inspecting others. It’s for inspecting our own heart-attitude towards forgiveness. If we forgive others, we have internalized the deep understanding of Christ’s forgiveness. We have assurance of God’s forgiveness.

What an Unforgiving Heart Looks Like

My grandmother died suddenly of a heart attack. Afterwards, when my family was cleaning out her belongings, we found a journal on her bedside table where she listed those she was praying for including some who were not very nice. My cousin was amazed at how different this book was to the book they found on the nightstand of her other grandmother. She had a book where she had written down the names of all the people who had wronged her because she was holding a grudge against each one. Guess which grandmother was a believer in Jesus Christ?

Three Misunderstandings of Matthew 6:15

Lose Your Salvation?

Some pastors use Matthew 6:15 to say “you’d better forgive that person, or else God will retract his forgiveness of you and you will be lost.” Does this verse mean if we accept Christ as our Savior, then refuse to forgive someone, we lose our salvation?

This misunderstands salvation. Salvation is not based anything we have done. We did not earn it so we cannot do anything to un-earn it. Like Jesus says in John 10:28-29, no one can snatch his sheep out of his hands. That includes ourselves. We cannot snatch ourselves out of Christ’s hand.

A sin not paid for?

Some explain Matthew 6:15 by saying Jesus died for our sins, but not the sin of unforgiveness. This is contrary to the totality of Christ’s sacrifice. Like the Read the Hard Parts reader who asked the question said, “when Jesus said ‘it is finished’, he meant FINISHED!”

Pre-cross?

Others have said since Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, including Matthew 6:15, before the cross, it doesn’t really apply after the cross. In other words, before Jesus’ sacrifice, forgiveness was given on a legal, contractual basis. But again this misunderstands how forgiveness works. Whether before or after the cross, salvation is given in the same way: by believing in God on the basis of Christ’s atoning sacrifice.

Inspiring Examples of Forgiveness

If you are experiencing a hard time forgiving someone who has hurt you or others in your life, that is understandable. God has given us instructions for forgiveness because he knew we would need them!

Here are several examples of Christians who have forgiven enormous hurts and sins against them. It was not easy. But they did it in the power of Christ.

• Corrie Ten Boom forgiving her concentration camp captors
• Brandt Jean’s forgives the woman who shot his brother
• Stephen forgave those who were stoning him to death

And most of all, the most personal, is Jesus Christ, the perfect sacrifice, dying for me a wretched sinner. I did not deserve his forgiveness, but he freely gave it to me.

What do you think Matthew 6:15 means? Do you have any inspiring stories of forgiveness to share? Please comment below!

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