Ok, maybe it is just me, but it sure seems that the author of this piece is reading into it through his Roman lenses.
CLEARLY, if someone has an unforgiving heart, then they are a practitioner of hypocrisy in the highest order. A child of God will always be willing to forgive, however imperfectly. If someone’s heart is so hardened that they refuse to forgive, then they truly cannot know Him.
There are some subtleties here, but then again, much of the difference between Roman and Protestant theology hinges on some subtleties. However, the explicit teaching of Scripture is this:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” - Ephesians 8:9-10
“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” - Romans 3:28
For the Romanist to declare that Justification is not by faith alone flies in the face of the clear, ordinary reading of these passages. Plus, when it all comes down to it, does it not render the Lord’s shed blood ineffectual and weak, if it is up to US to add our menstrual rags works (that’s what the Bible calls them) to the equation? Then, if so, why did Jesus even bother die for our sins? He could’ve skipped the entire ordeal and just left it all to us, rather than some of it.
Friends, please don’t abandon the Gospel’s purity and clarity for the sake of works. Works is what every other system of religion tells us we need to know god. Christianity is a fellowship with GOD through the work of JESUS, and it is victorious and triumphant. Now, go and LIVE and LOVE for Him!
Alternately, we can look at it as our needing BOTH faith AND works, with neither being sufficient by itself.
A number of Jesus' parables, not just the debtor one, allude to this. Faith must "bear fruit" in the form of works in order to be worthy.
Of course, no Protestant ever was guilty of reading into Scripture through his Protestant lenses.
Amen!