Tuesday, 7 January 2025
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15
Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)
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“And if not you may forgive men their transgressions, neither – your Father – He will forgive your transgressions” (CG).
In the previous verse, Jesus said, “For if you may forgive men their transgressions, also your Father, the Heavenly, He will forgive you.” He now continues His words, telling what happens if the opposite is true. This begins with, “And if not you may forgive men their transgressions.”
In this instance, the matter concerns a transgression that is not forgiven. The context is an Israelite under the law. It has been seen that debts were to be forgiven according to the law. When a debt was not forgiven, it was a violation of the law.
As such, if someone were to not forgive a debt in the seventh year as required by Deuteronomy 15:1-6, they could expect that their sacrifice for sin would not be accepted by God.
As sinning against God is like a debt that needs to be repaid, Jesus elevates transgressions between one another to the same level, showing the true spirit and intent of the law by next saying, “neither – your Father – He will forgive your transgressions.”
Jesus’ elevation of the matter is like what He has done repeatedly already, particularly in Chapter 5, where He would say something like, “You have heard it said… but I say to you…” His words now follow that same elevation of a matter.
If someone refused to forgive a transgression, it would be handled like not forgiving a debt. Someone who would presume to come before God with a sacrificial offering for forgiveness would be treated in the same manner. No forgiveness would result.
Life application: Unfortunately, it is almost universal to shove these words of Jesus, spoken to Israel under the law about a matter of the interpretation of the law, into church-age doctrine.
If these words of Jesus are to be considered as meaning it is required for believers to forgive others unconditionally or they would not be forgiven, it would mean that salvation was based on our efforts, not the efforts of the Lord.
Jesus died for our sins. When we believe the gospel, we are saved. We are forgiven, at that time, for all of our sins – past, present, and future. Therefore, these words cannot be speaking of church age matters at all. The context negates 99.99% of the incorrect analyses of these words.
Therefore, to clear up the incorrect theology concerning forgiveness that permeates the church, a short exposition on the matter is necessary.
First, forgiveness is never required unless asked for. There is no biblical example where forgiveness is required without repentance. Repentance means “to change one’s mind.” In essence, I have offended another, and now I am changing my mind towards him and asking for forgiveness.
Every example given by people to the contrary is taken out of context. And context is always king.
1) Jesus on the cross said, “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do’” Luke 23:34. People will say that Jesus forgave them, so you must too. First, Jesus didn’t forgive them, He asked the Father to. Secondly, the sin was unintentional (“they do not know what they do”). Third, after Jesus’ ascension, Peter explained what occurred and said to these same people that they must repent (change their mind about who Jesus is) or be destroyed and cut off. He even called them a “wicked generation.” The nation’s destruction occurred 40 years later when Israel was destroyed and the Jews were dispersed, just as Jesus predicted.
2) “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15). As noted above and in previous commentaries, this is taken entirely out of context. The context is the time of the law, and it is speaking of matters under the law of Moses.
3) “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). Again, “even as God in Christ forgave you” is the key. We had to receive Christ and believe the gospel first. Our forgiveness in Christ is potential only until we ask for it. It is only actual after that. Anything else is Universalism – a heresy.
4) “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.’” (Luke 17:3,4). In this verse, which is Jesus speaking to Israel under the law, forgiveness clearly is based on repentance.
5) In a comparable passage in Matthew 18:35, people tend to only quote the forgiveness part – “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” However, the entire parable is based on one getting on his knees and first asking forgiveness.
6) “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:23). Pretty clear here. Jesus’ disciples could retain the sins of others and they are not forgiven.
7) We are not (clearly not!) forgiven by God until we turn to Him and accept Jesus as Lord. The forgiveness is unconditional and offered to all –
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32) /// and /// “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13).
However, this is not in effect without turning to God through Jesus Christ. To teach otherwise is Universalism, which, as noted above, is a heresy. In other words, the forgiveness of Jesus Christ is POTENTIAL to all, but ACTUAL only to those who accept it when the gospel is believed, meaning that Christ died for our sins. In essence, “O GOD, FORGIVE ME… A SINNER.”
8) When one says the Lord’s Prayer concerning the forgiveness of debts, it is an acknowledgment of God as Forgiver. It is asking for that forgiveness. It, therefore, would logically be the same with those who “trespass against us.”
The problem with the incorrect doctrine concerning forgiveness among Christians is that they confuse the offering of forgiveness with the granting of forgiveness. According to Paul in Ephesians 4 (above), we are obligated to offer it in the manner in which it was provided to us. We acknowledged our sin, and then God forgave us.
Christians are not required to forgive when there is no acknowledgment by the one who sinned against us, even though the state of forgiveness (willingness to) exists. We must keep the boxes separate, or we fall into sloppy, emotion-based theology.
Does God hold us to a higher standard than He has set between us and Him? No.
Matthew 6:15 is not referring to those in the church. In Christ, we have been forgiven. Now, we are to forgive others in the manner in which we have been forgiven. That is proper church-age doctrine.
Glorious God, thank You for the forgiveness of sins that we have because of what Jesus has done for us. When someone comes to us, asking for forgiveness when they have sinned against us, may we be willing to forgive them in like manner. Help us in this, O God. Amen.