The Bible clearly teaches that a person is saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; human work is never involved, even if it is a valiant attempt to live the Sermon on the Mount, or practice forgiveness. Likewise, God's forgiveness is based not on man's merits, but on the merits of Christ. What then are these verses talking about?

Keep in mind, Jesus speaks to citizens of the Kingdom, Sons of the Father, believers, who are born again and have experienced judicial forgiveness, the kind God as Judge grants to a condemned person. Jesus cannot be talking about such forgiveness if he is addressing sons of the Father. They have been judicially forgiven. Rather, Jesus teaches believers about parental forgiveness, the kind that God as Father grants to his children. While this kind of forgiveness is also based on the merits of Christ, it is necessary for a believer to practice it to please God. If he has an unforgiving attitude (cf. Matt 18:23-35), he grieves God, and God will not listen to his prayers, bless his endeavors, illuminate the word of truth to his mind in Bible study, or protect him, because God will (if I can put this in human terms) "be too busy" disciplining him. God loves us so much, He wants us to repent when we grieve Him, and He will do what it takes to bring about our repentance.

In Matthew 5:23, Jesus instructs us to forgo worship until we have reconciled with anyone in the body of Christ that we know we have wronged. We are to "leave our offering" and be reconciled, an act that demands the asking and granting of forgiveness. The point is that forgiveness is a prerequisite to worship. God does not want our worship until we have practiced forgiveness as Jesus has instructed. Otherwise, words of praise from an unforgiving heart are empty. And a heart that refuses to forgive demonstrates that it has never been regenerated. Beloved, let's examine ourselves for God's glory and the benefit of the local church.