But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

The conditional statement serves as a warning and a call to self-examination, urging believers to consider their own need for forgiveness and the importance of extending it to others. This concept is echoed in the Lord's Prayer earlier in Matthew 6:12, where Jesus teaches His disciples to pray for forgiveness as they forgive others ...

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.

What does Matthew 6:15 mean? This is the counterpoint to Jesus' positive statement in the previous verse (Matthew 6:14). He makes this two-part remark to emphasize part of His model prayer for His disciples (Matthew 6:9–13). The key phrase being underlined is "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).

But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours. This phrase emphasizes the conditional nature of forgiveness in the Christian life. The term "trespasses" refers to sins or offenses, highlighting the moral and ethical breaches that occur in human relationships.

15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. 16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting.

Encouraging and challenging you to seek intimacy with God every day. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

Bible Commentary for Matthew 6:15 Wesley's Notes for Matthew 6:15 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil - Whenever we are tempted, O thou that helpest our infirmities, suffer us not to enter into temptation; to be overcome or suffer loss thereby; but make a way for us to escape, so that we may be more than conquerors ...

For 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.