What does the first para of Lonaphala Sutta mean? The first paragraph of the Lonaphala Sutta, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, states:


  "Monks, for anyone who says, 'In whatever way a person makes kamma,
  that is how it is experienced,' there is no living of the holy life,
  there is no opportunity for the right ending of stress. But for anyone
  who says, 'When a person makes kamma to be felt in such &amp; such a way,
  that is how its result is experienced,' there is the living of the
  holy life, there is the opportunity for the right ending of stress.


I feel that this is not the best possible translation for this paragraph of the sutta.

Please explain what it really means.
This is how I understand it.  You don't get back exactly what you put in, but you get back the results of it. 
Example,  if you kill someone, it is not necessary that you will get killed back in return but you will get results from your killing which depends on many factors.  This sutta,  Buddha taught us that is possible to work on those many factors that could produce a better results.
Like , if I killed someone, then later worked to become a stream enter, a result that could have sent me to hell next life changed to make me a sickly person.  Etc. A Finger bandit arahat is another example.
It is clear to me that karma is not fate or fixed destinations or replacement of a will from a god.