Matthew 6:14 (ASV)

Passage

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Nearby Context

Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Matthew 6:13 And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil [one.]

Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen of men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have received their reward.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "forgive", "trespasses", "heavenly", and "father". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "forgive" and "trespasses", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "And bring us not into temptation but..." into verse 15's "But if ye forgive not men their...", so "forgive" and "trespasses" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "forgive" and "trespasses" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.