“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 Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14, 15, NKJV).
The New Testament makes a grammatical distinction between trespasses (par-ap'-to-mah) and sins (ham-ar-tee'-ah). Both can be deadly (And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, - Ephesians 2:1, NKJV), but sin is against God and God alone (Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. - Psalms 51:4, NKJV), while trespasses can include offenses against our fellow man. Strong's makes the distinction even more picturesque. It defines the first as "to fall beside or near something", and the latter as "to miss the mark" entirely.
Why is this important? For the simple reason, that without this distinction one might think based on the Lord's instruction here, without reference to the "whole counsel of God", that our eternal salvation was dependent on us, and conceivably could therefore be lost, requiring us to then be "born again" again. Indeed, some Christians hold to the "conditional perseverance of the saints", but to do that I firmly believe they must ignore or discount a good number of very clear verses that emphatically state otherwise (see note below).
Given the differentiation then between trespasses and sins, the exhortation here encompasses a very pragmatic incentive to be forgiving. Aside from it being Christ-like, and freeing, and the embodiment of agape love (see Sweet 16), forgiving offensive human beings has within the act itself a reward: God forgiving our trespasses. What this boils down to is a kind of divine quid pro quo. Jesus is saying something to the effect of "Unless you forgive Uncle Burton for being incredibly insensitive and obnoxious and smelly, then the Father will not forgive you for being the same or worse." You may or may not have been smelly toward Uncle Burton himself, but it's guaranteed you've been smelly to somebody sometime, and that is offensive to God. Not the "you're going to Hell kind of offense" - if you're a Christian, that can't happen, since Christ's death on the Cross on your behalf made that impossible. Rather, it is the kind of failure that may cause "Hell to be paid here on earth".
You know the kind of Hell I'm talking about. King David paid it because of his murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba. He also paid in direct consequence of his dysfunctional and destructive parenting of Absalom and Amnon. Moses paid it by being deprived of the Promised Land. Jacob for his deception of Isaac, and the list goes ever onward. The point is this: if you save up offenses like a tight-fisted miser instead of letting them go in forgiveness, there will be a temporal price to pay. It could take many forms, all of them allowed or engineered by God to teach you the lesson of forgiveness. It's pretty simple. Forgive like you've been forgiven, or suffer.
The forms of suffering are as varied, unique and individual as snowflakes. God is a God of variety, and infinitely capable of customizing the lesson you need to learn precisely for you. Of course, He will work even your bitter pig-headedness together for good, but there are easier ways to accomplish His purposes in your life than to require Him to "take you out back behind the proverbial woodshed for a good switchin'". In the long and short run, forgiveness is the infinitely better way to go, and regardless of how much you may kick and scream in childish defiance, God WILL conform you into the image of His Son, even if it means dragging you through the mud and cold to get it done.
Take it from an aging Christian blockhead, forgiveness is simply sensible. Ultimately, it takes less energy, causes less bruising of body, soul and pride, and sets you free for the more important stuff, like loving and serving and being joyful as you walk in those good works which God has prepared beforehand that you should walk in them.
One final benefit, while being unforgiving hurts you the most, others who you claim to love and care about are hurt, as well, even if they had nothing to do with anything.
* Note From Easton on "Unconditional Perseverance of the Saints (a.k.a. Eternal Security)" - This doctrine is clearly taught in these passages, Joh 10:28,29 Ro 11:29 Php 1:6 1Pe 1:5 It, moreover, follows from a consideration of 1. the immutability of the divine decrees Jer 31:3 Mt 24:22-24 Ac 13:48 Ro 8:30 2. the provisions of the covenant of grace Jer 32:40 Joh 10:29 17:2-6 3. the atonement and intercession of Christ Isa 53:6,11 Mt 20:28 1Pe 2:24 Joh 11:42 17:11,15,20 Ro 8:34 and 4. the indwelling of the Holy Ghost Joh 14:16 2Co 1:21,22 5:5 Eph 1:14 1Jo 3:9 This doctrine is not inconsistent with the truth that the believer may nevertheless fall into grievous sin, and continue therein for some time.
