And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

The primary reason Jesus came to earth was to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Forgiving sinners is the most obvious component of accomplishing that mission. Paul linked the forgiveness the redeemed have received from God with our forgiveness of others in Ephesians 4:32:

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

While forgiving others is good, right, and noble, for those who have been forgiven of a sin debt that we could never hope to pay, forgiving others who have sinned against us in relatively miniscule ways is what we might call a “no-brainer!”

Paul’s words in Ephesians 4 also sort out the problem many have with the following verses in the Sermon on the Mount immediately after the Lord’s Prayer.

"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

I trust you can see the inherent question: “Does Matthew 6:14-15 teach that God forgives us on the basis of how we forgive others?” Or stated a little differently: “Is my forgiveness by God (salvation) determined by my forgiveness of others?” The obvious answer is NO! If it were so, no one would be forgiven or saved because no one forgives as we need to be forgiven.

Instead, as is the case with other required works of righteousness, they cannot earn or merit God’s grace, but they do validate that one has been changed as a result of having received God’s grace. In other words, God does not forgive us because we forgive others, rather, we are to forgive because God has already forgiven us.