What does "if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" mean (Matthew 6:15)?

In Matthew 6:14–15, Jesus states that if you forgive others who wrong you, God will forgive you. But if you don’t forgive others, neither will God forgive you. This passage is jarring at first glance because it seems to make human performance in the form of forgiving others a condition of God’s forgiveness, even salvation. However, a deeper look reveals that Jesus is addressing a heart condition and the nature of a saved person’s relationship with God.

This teaching is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Here, Jesus presents the Lord’s Prayer as a pattern for prayer (Matthew 6:5–18), directing it to “Our Father in heaven.” He instructs the disciples to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Matthew 6:12, NLT). Afterward, Jesus explains, “if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14–15).

The context of Christ’s teaching is the relationship between a father and child. He is speaking about forgiveness within a family—relational (parental) forgiveness that affects fellowship, not the judicial forgiveness that determines salvation. Christ’s death settled the judicial matter of salvation permanently. The Bible makes it clear that nothing we do can merit God’s judicial forgiveness. Such forgiveness is not works-based but is given “freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24; see also Romans 5:6–8; Ephesians 2:8–9).

Parental forgiveness between God and His children operates as an ongoing family dynamic. Thus, Jesus is not saying that forgiving others is a prerequisite to earning God’s forgiveness. He is warning that if we have an unforgiving heart, it will hinder our fellowship with God and our experience of His forgiveness in prayer. When we don’t forgive, we place ourselves under God’s fatherly displeasure and discipline. It doesn’t mean God stops loving us, but it does mean our relationship with Him is strained. In essence, we are allowing unforgiveness to harden our hearts, fuel bitterness, damage our relationships, and disrupt harmony in God’s family.

As God’s children, we are commanded to be forgiving (Matthew 18:21–22; Mark 11:25). We give evidence of our own forgiveness by forgiving others. If we have truly understood and appreciated all that God has forgiven in us, then we will be willing to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13).

When believers refuse to forgive others, God withholds parental forgiveness until they do, essentially saying, “Don’t ask Me for forgiveness when you will not extend the same to others.” This works much like an earthly parent disciplines a child—not by expelling them from the family, but by continuing to discipline until relational matters are resolved. A similar familial example comes up when Peter instructs Christian husbands to treat their wives considerately and with respect, “so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7).

Believers ought to be the most forgiving people on earth. A forgiving disposition shows that our hearts are right with God. Unforgiveness disrupts that relationship, like static in a conversation. The psalmist affirms, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18).

It would be insincere to pray for God to forgive us while still harboring unforgiveness toward another person. If we don’t forgive others, we fail to acknowledge that “from his fullness, we have all received, grace upon grace” poured out on us “through Jesus Christ” (John 1:16–17, ESV). Even though we are undeserving of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness, God still gives them to us freely, accepting us into His family through the most profound and unconditional act of love. When we truly value the extent of His divine pardon, it will naturally inspire us to extend similar grace and forgiveness toward those who have wronged us.

Unforgiveness strains our fellowship with God. If we don’t forgive, neither will our Father forgive us. Jesus reinforces this principle through the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, in which a king denies a servant pardon for refusing to forgive the debt of a fellow servant (Matthew 18:23–35). Jesus is showing how God will treat those who harbor unforgiveness in their hearts. Believers are expected to forgive with the same measure they have been forgiven. Since we have been forgiven all, we should forgive all. Maintaining a heart of forgiveness becomes inseparable from receiving God’s ongoing relational forgiveness and experiencing unhindered communion with Him.