"Legalistic remorse says, "I broke God's rules," while real repentance says, "I broke God's heart.""
"Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn’t mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness."
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Source: Timothy Keller (2008). “The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith”, p.32, Penguin
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