To the comment below which for some reason does not have a reply button. Hmmm... Anyway what you just stated is one of the worst problems with your religion. Everybody has a different 'definition' which makes Humpty Dumpty Semantics a breeze. Don't like my definition? Move on to another denomination of the religion that meshes with your view! There are literally thousands of them--they all believe in the same god, just not the same view of that god. This god must be something of a sadistic masochist to make his religion so vague that billions misinterpret his supposed 'message' and kill each other over these messages.
All Christians want to do is to be able to continue to do crappy things, be forgiven by their god and still be rewarded. No consequences. THAT is why we have Christians, because if they actually studied the Bible, they would come to the same conclusions I did long ago. It's illogical gobbledygook used to control the masses by telling them to be 'humble' and that pride in oneself is a vice.
Repentance would be to be genuinely sorry for your actions, take responsibility for these actions, pay restitution for these actions, and to never repeat these actions--as Hebrews 10 tells you.
In the Christian philosophy, only one of these points need apply. All a Christian has to be is 'sorry' and beg forgiveness from their god. No mention of the victims--just their god. No consequences for the man who kills his wife in a fit of rage, as long as he 'confesses' to his god and says 'sorry'. There is no justice in a Christian paradigm.
What you made mention of is the same as saying, "I'm sorry for beating my wife, and I repent and trust you Christ" and then going home and beating your wife again until she is dead, and then praying to Christ for salvation saying, I'm sorry for killing my wife Lord and I repent of my sin, and trust in Christ."--in order to be saved and go to heaven after death. i.e., Christians are being rewarded for bad behaviour with this philosophy. No consequences for the believer unless of course the secular courts have anything to say about it.
In reality according to your Bible, you MUST repent of ALL sin and trust in Christ for salvation, and if you WILFULLY sin again after being saved, you go to hell--as the Bible tells us.
Let me interpret the gobblydygook you say is an accurate representation of Christianity. That is:
"In the Christian belief, a person counted righteous by God when God counts the righteousness earned by Christ's obedient life to that person, by God's free grace. "
What this really means is that you have no say in your 'righteousness'--that's all on your Christ. i.e.--you don't have to take responsibility for your own behaviour. It's 'earned' by Christ, not you--as you made mention. Furthermore, by God's grace. i.e.--you don't even get to choose. No free will to choose to believe as it is by 'God's grace." Not you. Nothing is on you. You have free reign to do whatever you want including murder, theft, etc,. as long as you repent afterwards and of course 'believe.' Again let me reiterate just how abominable this philosophy is.
I am a professor of religion and philosophy, so I aware of all the Humpty Dumpty interpretations of the text. Cognitive dissonance allows you to make up whatever meaning you like in order to mesh it with your belief system. However, the meaning is clear as written. Once a believer is saved, there is no excuse to wilfully sin. If you choose to sin after being saved, then you go to hell. If you think otherwise, all your religion is, is an excuse to do bad things and still be rewarded--which is an abomination. Jesus made this clear as well in the fulfillment passages of Matthew 5:17-20. "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Humans would be much better off if they did not believe they were born innately bad and took responsibility for their own actions instead of putting them on the shoulders of someone else. In this respect, Christianity has given its followers free reign to rape, murder, steal, etc., but still be given salvation as long as they say 'sorry' to Jesus. Again, I find this to be abominable.
