But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
6 sermons cite this verse
… your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. In other words, for the God and Father of Jesus, forgiveness is a non-negotiable. God gives boundaries to protect his forgiveness because forgiveness reflects who God is. It's part of God's identity, his justice, and his mercy. To expect for God not to care about forgiveness Is to ask God to be a different God A God of your own making And then to put your trust in that God To stake your life on that God Instead of on the God and Father of Jesus If we want to be part of God's family Forgiveness is a non-negotiable Now there was an instance when Jesus' first followers wanted to test this. Is forgiveness really necessary in every situation? They wondered. I mean, what if you have a really good reason not to forgive someone? Say like, they did it on purpose. They did it because they knew it would bother you. …
… is clearly one of those things that will hinder God from working on your behalf. Here's number eight. Y'all not going to like this one. Unforgiveness. Unforgiveness. Matthew chapter six, verses 14 and 15. Unforgiveness. 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 forgive your trespasses. Wow. You probably didn't know that this attitude that you got against somebody who did something wrong to you is prohibiting God from working on your behalf. Now, I don't know where y'all are, but here's where I am in my life. I'm not going to let my anger, my frustration, my unforgiveness with another person hinder me from getting what God has in my life. Amen. I hate to tell you this, but you ain't worth me missing out on what God has for me. Go ahead, tell your neighbor, they ain't worth me losing out. They ain't worth it missing miracles. I'm not going to let what they did cause God not to reward me, for God not to respond to me, for God not to answer my prayer. I refuse to let another person hinder my walk with God. …
Jesus offers a kind of dire warning, if we're being honest, in Matthew 6, 14 and 15. 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 heavenly Father forgive your trespasses. In other words, how can you receive what you refuse to give? How can you expect me to forgive you when you choose to not forgive those who have hurt you? It's a tough question that we got to wrestle with. And as I've been wrestling with this topic of unforgiveness, just this week, even frankly, looking at the unforgiveness that I realized I still had in my heart, and as I pour over the New Testament, I am left with the conviction that forgiveness is not optional for the Christian. That is not something that we get to pick and choose whether we forgive or not. It is not an option. It is required. So what I'm calling our study tonight is, what's your excuse? …
… I wanna read the context of what he's writing together in Matthew 6, verses one through 18. We'll start with verse one here. Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your father in heaven. So, whenever you give to the poor, don't sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be applauded by people. But truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites because they love to pray standing in synagogues on the street corner to be seen by people. But truly I tell you, they've received their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, that's our word, and pray to your father who's in secret and your father who sees in secret will reward you. …
… For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you of your trespasses. But if you do not forgive men of their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you of your trespasses. So I have to choose to make the choice to forgive. And this is, do you realize how much forgiveness I require from Pastor Julia? Every day I'm asking. So stupid, right? I was wrong. I'm forgiven. I'm restored. What do I restore? I restore trust. I restore communication. I restore respect. The foundation of all relationships are trust, respect, and communication. I was wrong. I'm forgiven. And now, what's the third one? I build back respect. And the more that you do that, the more you walk in the power of that practice, you will see God do great things in your life. You will watch God do great things through your life. I choose to be generous and I choose to bring great forgiveness in my relationship with my spouse. Somebody say amen to that. …
… And mercy rejoiceth against judgment. Put this verse down, Matthew 6, verse 15. For if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither shall your Father forgive you your trespasses. So you need to get out of the FBI, the Fundamentalist Bureau of Investigation. Get off the Sin Seeker Committee. and show mercy. There are people in this city who are hurting in the church and out of the church. They don't need your condemnation. They need your mercy. Now, last of all, there is a time for discrimination. There is a fixed standard between right and wrong. Don't let that be blurred. There is also a time for toleration. It is not to deny that there is right. It is not to deny that there is wrong. But it is to say, I myself am a sinner. And I know you are. But I love you. Let me help you. Let me help get this speck out of your eye. The Bible doesn't say we're not to get it out. …