For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.     Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV

For the last week we have been talking about the model prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. He warned against vain repetitions. He told us to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and power and the holiness of God’s name. He taught us to pray for our daily needs. He told us in verse 13 that we were to ask God to forgive us our debts or our sins as we forgive those who are indebted or have sinned against us. He ended the prayer by asking God to deliver us from the evil one and protect us against temptation and acknowledging God’s kingdom, power and glory.

But in verses 14-15 Jesus again reminds us about forgiveness. In these verses, He not only reminds us to forgive but tells us that if we fail to forgive others, God will not forgive us.

How critical is it that God forgives us? Well, Paul said in Romans 3:23 that all of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. John said in 1 John 1:9-10 that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And if we say we have no sin, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Because we are all sinners, we all are in need of God’s forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins. We have to accept Him as our Savior. But we also have to forgive others. Jesus set this example for us when He was on the cross and said, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Harboring resentment against someone else only keeps us down. It doesn’t hurt them in the least. People who have hurt you certainly don’t lose any sleep over the fact that you are angry with them or refuse to forgive them. If they did, they wouldn’t have hurt you in the first place. So, by refusing to forgive them you are only hurting yourself.

Unfortunately, you are doing some eternal damage if you refuse to forgive because you block God from forgiving you. Whether you believe it or not, my friend we all need His forgiveness.

Forgiveness is hard, I can tell you from personal experience. The only way I have been able to forgive some people is through prayer. We are told in Matthew 5:44 to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. When we pray for people, God can change our heart.

If there is anyone that you have refused to forgive, think about what they have done to you. Is it worth going to hell for? Are you willing to forfeit spending eternity in heaven to prove a point? Only you can answer that one.

There is no one or no sin that has been committed against me or someone I love to justify me spending eternity in the fiery flames of hell. When I have a hard time forgiving someone I pray for God to remove any anger and bitterness from my heart. He has always answered that prayer. He will do the same for you.

For Christians, forgiveness is critical. We cannot be forgiven if we are unwilling to forgive. None of us are perfect, We are all sinners in need of a Savior and in need of God’s forgiveness. Don’t let the mistakes of others cause you to lose out on that.

Have a great day!