One of the barriers to Christians receiving forgiveness from God is an unwillingness on their part to forgive others. Jesus said, “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” (Matt. 6:14-15). Despite this plain statement, some Christians refuse to forgive those who sin against them and give the matter little thought.

Jesus addressed the matter again in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18. In this parable, a servant owed his master an enormous debt he had no hope of repaying. The order was given to sell him, his family, and all his possessions so that payment could be made. He begged his master for mercy, and moved with compassion, the master forgave the entire debt. Afterward, the forgiven servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a small amount (in comparison to what he had just been forgiven) and demanded immediate repayment of the debt. This fellow servant pled for mercy, using the same words that had just been spoken to the master, but the forgiven servant refused to forgive the debt and had him thrown into prison (vs. 23-30).

This unmerciful behavior upset the fellow servants and they reported it back to the master. “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (vs. 32-35).

It is important that we learn the lesson Jesus is teaching in this parable. God is angered by our refusal to sincerely forgive our brethren who seek our forgiveness. He sees it as wickedness. God does not allow such behavior to go unpunished. Please note that the unmerciful servant was delivered to a worse punishment than suggested before. He wasn’t sold into servitude. He was delivered to the torturers.

Hell is described as a place of torment and torture (Luke 16:24-25; Rev. 20:10, 15) How tragic it will be for one to spend his life trying to serve the Lord and go to Heaven only to be delivered to the torturers in Hell because, in his pride, he refused to forgive his brother.