Q: Didn’t Jesus teach that if we don’t forgive, we won’t be forgiven? What happens to those who are not forgiven?

A:  It should always keep it in mind that the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and James; along with the epistles of Hebrews, 1,2,3 John, 1,2 Peter, Jude, and the Revelation, were written to and for the Circumcision, i.e., the Jews to whom the Kingdom of Heaven — the future Messianic Millennial Kingdom that will be established on earth in Jerusalem, pertains. That Kingdom will be an eye for an eye type of thing. Physical. “We” do not fit into the scheme of things of the books mentioned above. That is for the Jews who lived in the days of the apostles and who shall live in the days of the future earthly Messianic Kingdom to come.

We come under the administration of the evangel [i.e., the gospel] of the apostle Paul; the sole apostle of the Gentiles. Paul was given a separate evangel from that given to the Jews and according to the evangel Christ gave to him, we are forgiven of all trespasses, and this necessarily includes any inability on our part to forgive another’s trespasses against us. Why? Because we come under the administration of God’s grace.

Grace is the completely free and unmerited favor and beneficence of God.

We are told to be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32), but Christ’s forgiveness toward us is not contingent upon our forgiveness of others. It is evident in the Ephesians 4:32 verse and others found in Paul’s epistles that Christ’s forgiveness of us is a done deal. Paul himself stands out as a shining example of this. He was a man who was going about seizing believing men women and little children and hauling them back to Jerusalem to be tried in the kangaroo religious courts, tortured and put to death for their faith, yet Christ appeared to him, converted him and appointed him an apostle to us! Now that is pure undiluted grace! Paul himself marveled at it!

“To me, less than the least of all saints, was granted this grace: to bring the evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ to the nations, and to enlighten all as to what is the administration of the secret, which has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all” (Ephesians 3:8-9).

“For you hear of my behavior once, in Judaism, that I accord inordinately persecuted the ecclesia of God and ravaged it” (Galatians 1:13).

Saul, on the road to Damascus, did not express one word of repentance.

“Now in his going he came to be nearing Damascus. Suddenly a light out of heaven flashes about him. And falling on the earth, he hears a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ Yet he said, ‘Who art Thou, Lord?’ Yet He said, ‘I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting. Nevertheless, rise and enter into the city, and it will be spoken to you what you must be doing’” (Acts 9:3-6).

Jesus, upon appearing to Saul, did not demand any repentance of him, but told him what he must do. Read it!

Please understand what just happened: Saul, the absolute worst of sinners, was made an apostle—AN APOSTLE!!  Without uttering or performing anything remotely resembling repentance!

This is where traditional Christendom stumbles. They do not realize these facts, and that is why so many of their doctrines are so misplaced and so wrong.

Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus for the enlightening to the truth.