"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)
The Apostle Matthew records these words of Jesus as He spoke to His disciples, and to the surrounding crowd, in His Sermon on The Mount. He said, if you forgive others, then God will forgive you. If you do not forgive others, then God will not forgive you.
Jesus made it perfectly clear, if we want God to forgive us of our sins, then we must forgive those who have sinned against us. (Matthew 6:14-15 and Mark 11:25-26) He also made it clear in the model prayer which He taught His disciples, that we would only be forgiven as we forgive others. (Matthew 6:12 and Luke 11:4) Forgiveness is an important part of Christ-like behavior. When Peter asked Jesus how many times should he forgive one who sins against him, the reply that Jesus gave him was "seventy times seven". (Matthew 18:21-22) Even while He was hanging on the cross, before He died, He prayed for the forgiveness of those who had sinned against Him. (Luke 23:34) That prayer was not just for the solders who crucified Him, it was for all of us also. All of us have sinned. (Romans 3:23) All sin is a sin against God. (Psalms 41:4 and 51:4) We must confess our sins and ask to be forgiven, and He will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) However, God will only forgive us of our sins if we forgive others of their sins against us. We must forgive in order to be forgiven.
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