Do you want to inherit eternal life?  If you do, you must be willing to forgive others who sin against you.  Forgiving is a critical aspect of Christianity.  So, what must we do to consistently forgive others?

As Christians, our willingness to forgive should stem from our realization that we are forgiven sinners ourselves.  Whatever anyone ever does to us, is far less than what we have done to God.  This should be a reminder to us to forgive others.

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
³²  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

The phrase “in Christ” tells us the extent to which God had to go to forgive us.  It took nothing less than the sacrifice of His one and only Son.  God condemned sin in the flesh by offering up Jesus on the cross because He forgave mankind for sinning against Him.  Can you imagine how angry it makes God when we refuse to forgive one another for the petty sins we sometimes commit against each other?  This leads us to our next point.

If we are to consistently forgive others, we must remember the consequences of refusing to do so. There will be no forgiveness for us if we do not forgive others.

Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV)
¹⁴  For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ¹⁵  but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Yes, God has already forgiven us of our past sins.  Regarding them, we have been acquitted and never have to worry about them again.  However, if we want the sins that we will commit in the future to be forgiven (sins, by the way, which are inevitable [1 John 1:8-10]), we must be willing to forgive. Jesus expounded upon this truth in a parable He gave to His disciples after Peter inquired about how many times they should forgive a brother who sins against them (Matthew 18:21-35).  The primary takeaways from the parable are that we must forgive repeatedly (seventy times seven – ver. 22), and if we do not, God will punish us (vers. 33-35).  Take a moment to read the entire parable.

Finally, if we are to forgive others as we should, love is going to play a strong role.  We must love our brethren enough to forgive them, even as God has loved us.  Not only that but we should love the church enough to know that refusing to forgive does damage to the body of Christ.  The church is made up of flawed people who sometimes make mistakes.  If brethren refuse to forgive, the local church will be left in a mess with members holding grudges and being bitter and causing the cause of Christ to be ineffective.  Only the devil wins in that scenario.

What must we do to inherit eternal life?  We must forgive others.  This is not optional.  It is required for salvation, and it is the right thing to do.  Jesus was willing to forgive those who tortured Him on a cross (Luke 23:34).  Surely, we can find it in our hearts to be like Him and forgive.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.