If we do not forgive, will God not forgive us, and do we lose our salvation as a result?

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Question: Matthew 6:14-15 says, "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Does that mean that those who do not forgive others have lost their salvation?

Question from a Study Group


ATP: The New Testament teaches that the relationship a believer has with the Lord is a permenant one. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Romans 8:1 says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Condemnation is a the term that describes the guilty condition of man due to sin, a condition in which man must pay the penalty for his sin. You have no doubt heard the following phrase whether in a movie or in an actual court room as sentence is passed on a convicted murderer: "You have been condemned to die...." There is an obvious finality to this word.

For those who have become believers in Christ, no such condemnation is possible says Paul. Once we have become believers, "there is therefore now no condemnation..." We have passed out of all possibility of being condemned by God.

That helps us understand Matthew 6. What Jesus appears to be referring to, is the issue of fellowship with God. If we don’t forgive others, God will withhold his fellowship from us.

David experienced precisely this in Psalm 32.

Speaking of his own sin (of which unforgiveness could be an example) he said,

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Life was tough on David when he hid his sin from the Lord. The Lord withheld fellowship from him. But then David confessed his sin and says, you forgave the guilt of my sin, ending the Psalm with,

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart.

Fellowship had been restored, as had been David, although the entire time he was God's child.