If we do, if we don't

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

IF WE DO, IF WE DON’T

Matt 6:14-15

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

NIV

If you, God will, if you don’t God won’t. That is it in a nutshell, That seems pretty harsh, but this is one of the promises that some may have either forgotten or simply refuse to accept. How can we say that our sins have been forgiven if we hold anything against someone, or hang on to a grudge because of what someone did to us or to one of our loved ones? If we were to ignore all the scriptures that tell us to love our neighbor or our enemy and all the scriptures that tell us to live a life of love and grace, we cannot ignore this one for it brings our salvation front and center. If we do not forgive every single person for whatever wrong that may have been done to us or to our loved ones, then there is no question whatsoever that we are not saved. It does not matter how much we confess that we love Jesus, or that we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. If we do not forgive everyone then God is not going to forgive our sins, and therefore are sins are not forgiven that only leaves us to conclude we are not going to heaven. These words of Jesus should strike right at the core of every believer. We can reverse his words or change the concept to say that if we forgive everyone who offends us or sins against us or our loved ones, then God will forgive our sins. However, it is still if we, then God. Saying it another way is that God’s forgiveness is depended on our forgiveness. Conversely, God’s wrath is dependent on our wrath, using wrath as another way of saying unforgiveness, for if we fail to forgive, we are showing that person our wrath. No matter how we look at it, we always must come back to it, if we do, then God will, and if we don’t then God won’t. So, we better keep on keeping on living a life of love and grace, always forgiving.