Is Forgiving Others a Requirement for Salvation?

It's amazing how many well-meaning but misguided Christians—or so-called Christians—believe in and advocate for the view of salvation which teaches that in order to be saved and go to heaven, a Christian must not die in a state of unforgiveness toward others. This view is similar to the Roman Catholic dogma which teaches that in order to go to heaven a person must not die without taking the sacraments and cannot have committed any "mortal" sins. And if a person has unconfessed "venial" sins, then according to Roman Catholic doctrine, such a person is plunged into Purgatory where the soul is supposedly cleansed before entering heaven. But that is—

WORKS SALVATION!

I've found in life and in theology in particular, most people are either too unlearned in the Bible to notice this contradiction in their theological beliefs, or if they do notice it, they are apparently quite content with the inconsistency of their contradictory view of salvation which on the one hand affirms that salvation is by "grace," but then holding to an interpretation of "grace" which defines it in such a way that functionally it includes works for salvation! By so doing, these Protestants (for so they claim to be) actually hold to a view of salvation that is surprisingly similar to that of Roman Catholicism and all other man-made religions of works-salvation. And it's cultish actually, because the Mormons (for example) will also agree that salvation is by "grace," but in their other teachings they negate it. Just like the Lordship Salvationists who say that salvation is by grace, but define it in such a way that it is essentially works-salvation, or a barter-system salvation where a person must trade his or her good works (e.g., forgiving others) for God's supposedly free gift of eternal life. Again,

WORKS SALVATION!

But of course these apparently well-meaning and so-called Christians couldn't possibly be teaching outright works-salvation because that's clearly unbiblical. That is one of the many ways in which they justify their false view. They simply redefine it or outright deny it. They retort: "We don't teach works salvation!" As if the claim itself changes anything. That would be like a robber stealing from you at gunpoint and then saying you gave him the money! These so-called Christians who claim to believe in "salvation by grace" (which, incidentally, the Roman Catholics also claim to believe in salvation by grace!) have no problem—or at least cannot see the problem—of on the one hand saying that salvation is by grace, yet on the other hand saying that a person must forgive others for salvation. Again,

WORKS SALVATION!

Those who teach this view often appeal to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:14-15 when He says, "If you don't forgive others, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you." But God has already forgiven us—not only some sins, but all sins! This is obvious to those who know their Bibles. Notice, for example, these verses:

"If Thou, LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared" (Psa. 130:3-4).¹

"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses" (Acts 13:38-39).

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).

"And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions" (Col. 2:13).

"For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time" (Hebrews 10:10, NLT).

I could go on to cite more Bible verses, but I will let the reader who desires to study the Scriptures further (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15) have the joy of uncovering more such nuggets of biblical truth, a rich treasure for those who "have eyes to see and ears to hear." For,

"If you seek her [i.e., divine understanding] as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasure; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God" (Prov. 2:4).

What, then, is the meaning of Jesus' statement in Matthew 6:14-15 about forgiving others? A principle of Bible interpretation that Lordship Salvationists (for instance) deny in practice is the hermeneutical principle called "The Analogy of Faith."² This principle simply says that no statement of Scripture is contradictory to another statement in Scripture when properly understood, and that the unclear passages must be interpreted in the light of the clear passages. It's very basic, but these grace-in-name-only works-salvationists don't apply even the most basic and obvious principles of Bible interpretation to their view of salvation, but rather build their view on the statements of Jesus which superficially appeal to a works-based mentality, which also appeals to the natural ego and pride of the human heart. It's Pharisaical, and God hates it. Yet the Lordship Salvationists cling to their view as Achan clung to the Babylonian gold, as a testimony against him for which he paid dearly (see Joshua chapter 7).

An easy way to test the plausibility of one's interpretation of Jesus' statement in Matthew 6:14-15 is to simply ask the question: Is Jesus teaching works-salvation?! If the Lordship Salvationist is correct, and entrance into heaven is like a barter system in which man's forgiveness is traded in exchange for God's forgiveness, then that would make Jesus' teachings no different from any other man-made religion where man earns favor with God on the basis of merit, or by the works of his hands. Such a view is the religion of Cain (see Genesis 4:3-5; cf. Jude 1:11), which is antithetical to God's way of salvation. While God accepted Abel and his sacrifice of the slain lamb on the basis of faith, God rejected Cain and his offering which was on the basis of his own efforts (Heb. 11:4). It's a picture of God's grace versus man's works (cf. Eph. 2:8-9). The religion of Cain is man trying to be accepted by God on the basis of works, or faith plus works. This method is cursed by God (see Jeremiah 17:5). Instead, salvation has been—and always will be—"by grace"! As R. A. Torrey has said, "The Bible is a history of grace. From the story of creation, with which it begins, to the picture of last things, with which it closes, it is grace, grace, grace."³ Have you believed it? Notice I didn't ask if you say the right things or mouth the right words, but do you believe it? Do you believe, as the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write: "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves" (that is, salvation is not of yourselves), "it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

But getting back to the question, "What did Jesus mean when He said that if you don't forgive others, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you?" The answer is surprisingly simple! Theologians get paid to make it sound complicated, but actually the answer is very simple. There are two kinds of forgiveness:

1) Salvation forgiveness, and

2) Fellowship forgiveness.⁴

When Jesus states in Matthew 6:14-15 that your heavenly Father will not forgive you if you do not forgive others, He is speaking to believers about daily fellowship and family discipline (cf. Psa. 66:18; Matt. 5:23-24; Mk. 11:25; Eph. 4:32; Heb. 12:5-11; 1 Pet. 3:7; 1 Jn. 1:6-9)—not entrance into heaven. Commenting on Matthew 6:14-15, Charles Ryrie affirms: "Forgiveness with the Father depends on forgiveness among the members of the family of God. This is the forgiveness that affects fellowship within the family of God, not the forgiveness that leads to salvation."⁵ 

This distinction is plainly evident from another statement that Jesus made, when He said: "The one who has bathed" (i.e., has taken a complete bath) "needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean" (John 13:10a). In context, Jesus is talking about how the disciples (with the exception of Judas Iscariot, Jn. 13:10b-11) were already clean in the sense of already having been completely washed from their sins (the complete bath, i.e., eternal salvation), and thus had need only to wash their feet in order to maintain fellowship, or partnership (Jn. 13:8), with the Lord in their daily life and ministry (cf. Heb. 1:9, 3:14).⁶ 

This interpretation is consistent with the free grace of God displayed in the finished work of Christ, when He died upon Calvary's cross to redeem a lost and fallen humanity from the curse of sin, death, and an eternity without God. It is His work that saves; not our works, regardless of how good or noteworthy they may be. Because, as the Bible says: "All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags" in God's sight, when performed or trusted in as a means of salvation (see Isaiah 64:6). Yet that is the inclination of the proud heart of man, and it remains the broad road to hell for those who travel thereby, even to this day (see Matthew 7:13-14; cf. Prov. 14:12, 16:25). Have you stopped trying to earn God's forgiveness by your forgiveness? If not, do so today—you'll be glad you did. For salvation is not based on your work, but rather on God's grace—displayed on Calvary's cross where His work was finished (Jn. 19:30), with nothing left for you to do.⁷ Praise the Lord!

ENDNOTES:

¹ For more information, see my blog post titled "Martin Luther's Gospel of Free Grace," FGFS (September 11, 2026).

² For more information, see my blog post titled "Bible Interpretation 101: The Analogy of Faith," FGFS (February 11, 2023).

³ R. A. Torrey, "Golden Text Homilies." Record of Christian Work (Vol. XX, 1901), Lesson II, on Romans 5:20, p. 517. 

⁴ For more information, see the article by George Zeller titled "Two Aspects of Forgiveness," Middletown Bible Church (pdf). 

⁵ Charles C. Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition (Chicago: Moody Press, 1995), p. 1522, note on Matthew 6:14-15.

⁶ For more information, see my blog post titled "What's Wrong with John Piper's Interpretation of Hebrews 3:14?," FGFS (September 3, 2022). 

⁷ For more information, see the story by Frances A. Bevin titled "Nothing Left for You to Do." The Evangelist (Vol. VII, 1873), pp. 125-130. Also see an adapted version of the same story on Bob Nyberg's website (4himnet.com).