What is the meaning of Matthew 6:15? But • This little word links us back to the promise in the previous verse: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14). Jesus turns the coin over to show the other side. • The contrast reminds us that divine forgiveness and human forgiveness are inseparably connected (cf. Luke 6:37; Matthew 18:32-35). • In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus often uses “but” to expose the heart behind outward acts (Matthew 5:22, 28, 44). Here He exposes the heart’s response to wrongs done against us. if you do not forgive men their trespasses • Forgive—let go, release the debt. Trespasses—real offenses, not trivial annoyances. Jesus assumes people will genuinely wrong us (Mark 11:25). • Withholding forgiveness is an intentional choice. Refusal turns a wound into a weapon we aim back at the offender—and ultimately at ourselves (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). • The plural “men” broadens the scope: family, friends, strangers, enemies (Matthew 5:44). Anyone who sins against us is included. • Jesus places the responsibility squarely on the listener. We cannot control another’s repentance, but we can control our willingness to forgive (Romans 12:17-19). neither will your Father forgive yours • The stakes are eternal. God’s forgiveness is not a casual pat-on-the-back; it is the removal of a debt we could never repay (Psalm 103:12). • “Your Father” underscores relationship. Unforgiving children strain fellowship with a perfectly forgiving Father (1 John 1:6-7; 4:20). • Jesus is not teaching that salvation is earned by our forgiving others. Rather, a heart truly forgiven by God will inevitably echo that forgiveness outward (Matthew 18:35; James 2:13). Persistently unforgiving behavior reveals a heart that has never grasped or received God’s mercy. • The warning is literal: God will hold us to the same standard we apply to others. As we measure, so it will be measured to us (Matthew 7:2). summary The Lord ties our experience of His forgiving grace to our extension of that grace to others. Refusal to forgive cuts the conduit through which God’s mercy flows into our lives. Because the Father has wiped away an unpayable debt at the cross, His children must freely release lesser debts. Living forgiven means living forgiving. |
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