In our quest to understand the gospel and grow in faith, there is perhaps nothing with greater potential to hinder us than guilt, shame, and condemnation. We are going to deal with that in this chapter. Satan wants nothing more than to keep you feeling dirty and unworthy. He will gladly let you believe that you're forgiven, for there are plenty of ways that he can use this knowledge against you. But there is one thing that he knows will forever give you the upper hand — the full knowledge of what God has done with your sin.
Satan is content for you to believe that God calls you beautiful as long as you do not actually believe that you are beautiful. He is content for you to believe that God declares you righteous as long as you do not actually believe that he has made you righteous. He is content for you to believe that God willingly overlooks your sin as long as you continue believing that it is still there. He will stop at nothing to distort your image of yourself, to make you believe that the way God sees you is not actually the way you are.
Satan wants you to feel like a wife whose husband tells her she is beautiful, but it does not really matter because she does not see herself the same way. For he knows that if you cannot see what God sees, then you will never be able to give yourself to him fully. You will “protect” God from yourself, making the choice for him that you shouldn't be loved. You will project your insecurities onto God, presuming his love and his compliments to be little more than kind lies. And even if you know — as an intellectual fact or a doctrinal position — that he loves you, you will never truly understand why or how or to what extent.
The bedrock of our faith, as it applies to our daily lives, is the atonement of our sins through Jesus Christ, our Lord. There is nothing — and I mean nothing — that is a more necessary foundation for our spiritual growth. The Cornerstone has been set. Now, we must begin where Christ finished.
The Atonement Goats
In the Old Testament, we learn of something called The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. Once a year, the high priest of Israel would enter the Holy of Holies — the innermost place in the tabernacle/temple — to atone for all the sins of the people. It was here that God’s presence would “appear in the cloud over the mercy seat” (Leviticus 16:2) to receive the offerings for their sin, which were administered by the priest on Israel’s behalf.
Christians, of course, no longer observe this day, nor do we offer sacrifices for our sins, in general. As was the case with many things under the Jewish Law, the Day of Atonement was just “a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities” (Hebrews 10:1). Jesus, himself, is our Great High Priest who “has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). He is the true and final atonement for our sins, forever making us right with the Father and providing us constant access “behind the veil.”
Even so, there is still much to learn from the old Jewish ritual, for it provides some great insight into what atonement actually means for us today and how exactly it has been accomplished once and for all through Jesus. It is a very powerful thing. The detailed instructions for this annual tradition are found in Leviticus 16, and then the New Covenant comparison/parallel we will use is found primarily in Hebrews 9-10.
Before we get into it, it will be helpful to define a couple of things.
The Hebrew word for “atone” (kaphar) means “to cover, remove, or erase.” Atonement is a common biblical theme, especially in the Old Testament. It relates to the idea of cleansing the people from sin to remain in right standing with God. This was, in fact, the very purpose of the Day of Atonement. “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you. You shall be clean before the LORD from all your sins” (Leviticus 16:30).
Next, we must understand the importance of blood. (This clue will be very handy when we begin to talk about the blood of Christ). God told Israel that “the life of every creature [literally all flesh] is in its blood” (Leviticus 17:14). The word translated as “life” here is nephesh, which also means “breath” and “soul,” and it was understood to be the animating life force within every living creature. In this way, it is closely related to (and often used interchangeably with) the Hebrew word ruach, which is translated as “spirit,” “breath,” and “wind.” So, according to Jewish theology, the spirit/soul of humans is found in (or at least represented by) the blood, and it is distinct from the body of flesh. This is why, after Cain killed Abel, God told Cain, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10). The actual person (spirit) was believed to be in the blood.
Regarding atonement for sins, God said, “I have given [the blood of animals] for you… to make atonement for your souls [or nephesh], for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life [or nephesh]” (Leviticus 17:11; cf. 17:14, Genesis 9:4). Since animals were naturally without sin, their blood represented a purity of life, which was able to act as a covering (atonement) over Israel’s sinfulness, effectively making the people clean.
Now, back to the Day of Atonement. First among the offerings that were required was one bull. The bull was sacrificed, and its blood was used to atone for the sins of the high priest so that he would be clean and able to stand before God while performing the rest of his duties. Therefore, in our New Covenant parallel, there is no need for a bull since Jesus was without sin.
Next among the offerings were two male goats, which were reserved for the sins of the people, each goat serving a unique purpose. The high priest would “cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel [meaning unknown]” (Leviticus 16:8). The first would be killed, and then its blood would be sprinkled over various objects and places within the tent of meeting to “cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the people of Israel” (16:19). Again, notice the purpose of the blood — to cleanse or purify. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood…” (Hebrews 9:22).
Contrary to common belief, the punishment for Israel’s sins was not being taken out on this goat by means of its death, but rather, the purity of this goat’s life was being transferred to Israel by means of its blood (since the life is in the blood). “[F]or it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Leviticus 17:11, my italics). This understanding of how the blood was used can also be seen in the fact that it was not the people themselves who were sprinkled with blood on the Day of Atonement but “the tent and all the vessels used in worship” (Hebrews 9:21). These objects did not need to be punished; that would be silly. They needed to be washed, cleansed, purified.
Also of great importance is the fact that this sacrifice was not a gift from the people to God to appease him; rather, it was a gift from God to his people to cleanse them. Please read that again if necessary. Hence, God said, “I have given it to you… to make atonement for your souls…” (Leviticus 17:11, my italics). This is no doubt a prophetic foreshadowing of Jesus' sacrifice for us, and at the same time, just good insight into what ceremonial sacrifice meant to God.
Now, under the New Covenant, it is not enough to say that Jesus simply died for us to take our punishment. He did that and more. Fulfilling the role of this first goat, his perfect and sinless life is transferred to us by means of his blood, making us perfectly clean before God and purifying our conscience (see Hebrews 9:14 and 10:22). As I stated before, in Jewish thought, the blood carries the soul/spirit. Therefore, what was once somewhat of a symbolic act in ancient Israel became a very real thing in Jesus. To be sprinkled with Jesus’ blood is to be made one with his Spirit, or vice versa. Never before had there been such a fitting sacrifice for mankind. Since animals do not possess a human soul/spirit, their blood could not truly purify the spirit of man, only the flesh. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus, on the other hand, shared in our flesh and blood. Therefore, the offering of his Spirit has purified (in spirit) those who have received it (see Hebrews 9:13-14). We will come back to this idea shortly.
The second goat (also known as the “scapegoat”) is the one who endured the punishment, and it was actually kept alive. As the high priest stood before God with the live goat, he would lay his hands on this goat’s head and confess all the sins of the people over it. This also was referred to as “atonement” (see Leviticus 16:10), for he was covering the goat in sins. This goat would then bear the iniquities of the people in/on its flesh as it was sent outside the camp, off into the wilderness to Azazel. While the meaning of Azazel remains unclear, the obvious effect of sending the goat into the wilderness still remains. It signifies the complete removal of sin from Israel.
It probably goes without saying that Jesus fulfilled the role of this goat, too. For he bore our sins in his body of flesh and took them straight to hell where they belong, away from the presence of the Lord (see Hebrews 9:28; Isaiah 53; 1 Peter 2:24). Every time we confess our sins, this is where they go — onto his flesh, not ours. “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh…” (Romans 8:3). They are dealt with, punished, and forever removed from God’s sight. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Thus, God has forgiven and forgotten, as if we never sinned at all. "[A]s far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). Again, I must remind you that this is no mere symbolic gesture. Those who are in Christ have put off the body of sin, having died through his death (see Romans 6:6 and 7:4). We have been condemned in the flesh, just not our own. In this way, Jesus is more than a substitute; he is a vessel for vicarious death and new life. Since “one has died for all, therefore, all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
Do you see what is happening here? Where is the sin? What does atonement really mean? Does God simply overlook our sin, even though it is still there? Or does he deal with it altogether, such that it is no longer there?
Notice what the old system could not do:
"According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper…" (Hebrews 9:9, my italics)
"[I]t can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near" (Hebrews 10:1, my italics).
"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4, my italics).
"And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins" (Hebrews 10:11, my italics).
Here, we can quite clearly see the meaning of atonement. While it certainly includes the forgiveness of sins (see Hebrews 9:22, 10:18), the removal of sin is the ultimate picture. Atonement is only complete if sin is wholly removed.
Read now how this has been accomplished through Christ for all believers:
"For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God." (Hebrews 9:13–14, my italics)
"But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Hebrews 9:26, my italics).
"[W]e have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10, my italics).
"For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified [or are sanctified]" (Hebrews 10:14).
Do not get too riled up yet. We need not claim to be perfect (in the sense that there is no more growth to be had). We must claim to be pure — i.e., free from a sinful conscience — provided that we are walking in faith and humility. More importantly, the point that I am making is this. The Bible says not only that we are forgiven but also that we are not guilty, or that we are clean, as we addressed previously.
To be sure, it is quite possible to be forgiven yet still guilty or “dirty.” This is the way that I thought of myself for most of my Christian life. My debt was forgiven but not really paid. Or even if it was paid, I just kept incurring more. God loved me and forgave me, but he did not often delight in me. He gave me his Spirit, but I stayed somewhat rotten. He removed sin’s punishment but left its stain. I was pulled from the mire but still covered in filth. I was not condemned, technically, but I could feel his constant disappointment and anger (unless, of course, I had been particularly “good” that week). Can you relate?
It seemed that all anyone could tell me was: "Don’t be so hard on yourself," "God forgives you," "Nobody is perfect," etc. Or otherwise, I was just told to pray that God would rid the sin from my heart. But no one ever told me that I was clean in the truest sense. If only I had read my Bible for myself, prayed for understanding, and taken its words to mean what they mean, I would have learned these truths much earlier than I did!
It is one thing to stand before the Lord forgiven. It is another thing entirely to stand before him clean. It is one thing to be allowed permission to approach the King despite the fact that I am still covered in dung and stench. It is another to approach him boldly and confidently, washed clean and clothed in his royal garments. “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…” (Isaiah 61:10). “And the angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him.’ And to him he said, ‘Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments’“ (Zechariah 3:4).
Brothers and sisters, how could you be guilty if the atonement was successful? What more must God do to remove your sin? There is only one way to the Father, and it is through the Son by the Holy Spirit, which means that you cannot possibly get there without being beautifully washed and clothed along the way. As you stand before the Judge, you owe nothing at all (see Colossians 2:14). You are not simply a debtor who has been let off the hook. Rather, the account has been settled, and there is no debt to be accounted for. You are innocent as a dove, blameless as a lamb. You are justified in his own righteousness, drenched in his own blood, renewed in his own Spirit, recreated in his own nature. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?… Who is to condemn?” (Romans 8:33-34). If anyone is accusing you, it is Satan the Accuser, and he does so with lies. If there is one thing that the Serpent does not want you to know, it is that you are clean, clean, clean, pure, pure, pure, new, new, new, by the precious blood of Jesus, which has washed you white as snow.
I think it is safe to say that the majority of the church currently believes that God graciously chooses not to see our sin, even though it is still there. But let me ask you this, believer. Can Truth personified call me clean when I am not? Can Truth, himself, choose to see something that is not true? Is this not straight blasphemy?! “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Acts 11:9). God is not a liar, nor is he blind. If he does not see sin, it is because it is not there (see Jeremiah 31:34 and Hebrews 10:17). What, then, must he be looking at? He is looking at the heart (see Acts 15:8-9).
Why is it, then, that there is “now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus?” (Romans 8:1). It is not merely that we are forgiven despite the sin that remains. In Christ, we are not even in the “body of sin” (see Romans 6:6-7, 8:9). And in the Spirit, “the righteous requirement of the law [is] fulfilled in us” (Romans 8:4). Yes, our sin has been dealt with, all evil removed from our hearts. The passions of the flesh may wage war as they do. But thank God we have been delivered, and that is no longer who we are.
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:19-22, my italics).
Sinless Perfection
There has been a centuries-long debate in the Church about whether or not sinless perfection is attainable in this life. To be honest, I believe that both sides have missed the boat. The argument itself shows that we have not properly understood either (a) the atonement or (b) the way to perfection. Having reduced the atonement to the forgiveness of sins, or at best, a partial removal of sin, our focus has been on ridding the remaining sin from the heart. It is quite unbelievable how we have gone back and forth about whether or not it is possible to eventually attain a state of sinlessness when, according to the gospel, we already have it by faith.
We have thought that a pure heart is the end of the Christian life when, actually, it is the beginning, apart from which we cannot bear fruit. This is why Paul tells Timothy to "pursue righteousness... along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (1 Timothy 2:22), and Peter tells the brothers to "love one another earnestly from a pure heart (1 Peter 1:22). "From a pure heart" is the Christian's starting place of each day and each moment, made possible through faith in Jesus Christ.
This is not to say at all that God’s work in us is finished. Rather, it is to more clearly define the process, which is contingent upon our belief that we are righteous as he is (see 1 John 3:7) and that he has removed sin from our hearts. It is also not to say that we will never sin again. Instead, it is to clarify where our sinful desires still remain — the body of flesh.
Thus far, I hope to have made it overwhelmingly clear that the heart, or the spirit, is what God has made new, pure, righteous, and holy. This "spirit" is the person within the body of flesh, and the two must be distinguished. For the flesh itself still has sinful “passions… which wage war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). Notice, it is not the other way around. As we discussed previously, “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit… to keep you from doing the things you want to do” (Galatians 5:17, my italics). “[B]ut if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).
So you see, to put to death the passions of the flesh and abstain from sin, we must first know the truth that those sinful passions are no longer our own, or else we will continue obeying them. They are born in our flesh, and we only obey them because we are deceived into thinking they come from our spirit. Hence the need to renew our minds (see Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:23). As long as we continue to believe that we still have sin in our spirit, we will be unable to walk according to the sinless Spirit, with whom we have been made one (see 1 Corinthians 6:17). “You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). So, if we are in him, then in us, there is no sin. A plus B equals C.
What about 1 John 1?
This conversation almost always leads Bible-reading Christians back to one particular scripture — 1 John 1. There are certainly others that are relevant, but this one has been notoriously divisive and used as an attempt to thwart the gospel of grace. It is worth our time to look at it now.
V. 7 - “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
V. 8 - “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
V. 9 - “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
V. 10 – “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
As you might imagine, verses 8 and 10 are employed to destroy any argument that a Christian can be without sin. It is one of those, like Romans 7, that is ignorantly misinterpreted, taken out of context, and used to defend a position that undermines the gospel and gives power to the devil — all in the name of Jesus. These dissenters are under a satanic delusion that they are somehow “protecting the sanctity of Jesus” by insisting that he cannot sanctify, or that they are somehow “preserving the integrity of the gospel” by limiting its power. They are so intent on maintaining their doctrinal position — that is, that we are still sinners — that they have become blind to the truth that is literally right in front of them in verses 7 and 9. If you are one of these people, I assure you, the Lord will keep you blind in your sin if you do not humble yourself before him and pray that he reveals to you the plain truth within his Holy Scripture.
Look at the context, beginning in verse 7. “[I]f we walk in the light… the blood of Jesus… cleanses us from all sin.” Tell me, how can one be cleansed from sin and still have it? He does not say we are cleansed from the stain of sin, the effect of sin, or the consequence of sin. He says we are cleansed from sin itself. And not some of it, but all of it. As we discussed in the last section, this is the essence of atonement. It makes no sense whatsoever to say we have been cleansed from something if that thing still remains.
When he says in verse 8, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” he is speaking of acknowledging our depravity apart from Jesus. It is true that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). To be sure, no level of spiritual maturity — not even the state of perfection itself — would negate one’s basic need for God’s saving grace. Everyone has sinned. If we fail to acknowledge this, claiming to have a righteousness of our own, then by definition, we are walking in the darkness, not the light. But as he says again in verse 9, when we acknowledge this reality, Jesus forgives us and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. How foolish it would be, after having been cleansed, to go on believing that we are still dirty! How much more foolish to insist that this belief is essential for abiding in God when it is, in fact, the exact opposite!
It is worth noting, once again, that cleansing is something different than forgiveness. John was not being redundant in saying that God forgives us and cleanses us. His point is to express the completion of the atonement, the full removal of sin, completed for all who have turned from darkness to the Light.
Just as we cannot walk in the darkness and have fellowship with the Light, neither can we walk in the Light and remain in darkness. For “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Hence, if we are truly in him, then there is no darkness in us. If I believe that “[i]t is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), then how could I still claim to have sin in me? These two ideas are logically incompatible. If I insist that I still have sin, I would have to renounce this glorious thing that God has done. I would have to deny his grace and subdue my faith. “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11).
In the next verse (1 John 2:1), John writes: “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Notice John’s explicit intent for what he just wrote — that they may not sin. Does he presume that they will sin, or does he presume that they will not? He says, “if anyone does sin,” not “when everyone sins.” Is it not shockingly clear that they had a different perspective than we do today? Should we call John a heretic for suggesting that they could actually go on without sinning? If one of his disciples came to him a month after reading his letter and said, “John, thanks to your instruction, I have not sinned!” do you think John would balk at this claim? Do you think he would yell, “Liar! Liar! The Truth is not in you!?" Or do you think he would celebrate that the man was walking in the light and that the cleansing blood of Jesus was having its intended effect?
Perhaps an analogy is needed to help us understand these verses in John a little better. Imagine that the goal was for you to get to my house. In this case, saying that you have no need for my address is like saying that you “have no sin” (1 John 1:8) or no need for cleansing, even though you most clearly do. This would be very prideful and stupid. You would simply be deceiving yourself, and you would never be able to make it here. Nor would I have a reason to give you the address under the pretense that you do not need it. But if you told me that you did not know the address, then I would give it to you. Problem solved. After receiving it, you would forever rely on the information that I gave you, but you would not need it like before, for you would have it. It would be untrue for you to tell people that you got here on your own and that you had no need for my help. But it would be just as untrue to say that you still needed my address as if I never gave it to you.
Apply this to 1 John, and you will see what I mean. To John, the person who says they have no sin is basically saying they have no need for God's grace. But if you confess your sins to God, acknowledging your need for his grace, he solves the problem by giving you that grace (i.e., removing all your sin). He makes you clean and pure as he is. And after this occurs, it is just as untrue to say that he did not cleanse you as it is to say that you had no sin from which to be cleansed.
Here is our real problem. We have one sinful thought, and we thereby conclude that we still are not righteous. The flesh gets the best of us, and we decide that God’s word is not true. A brother acts according to the flesh, and we say, “See, you are still a sinner.” But the proper response would be to say: “Don’t be deceived. That was not who you are. Remember and believe that you have been cleansed, and walk in the truth.” We think that if you confess your sins, then you are admitting to still being unclean. But actually, confession is the very confirmation of our newness and our cleanness. It is a reaffirmation of who we truly are in Christ. It is itself evidence of our heart’s true desires, proof that he has made us righteous and pure. And if ever you are unsure about the state of your own heart, the Bible instructs you to simply confess, and you will be made clean and righteous. After that point, you must start to believe it is so.
Back to the conversation about sinless perfection, I want to be very clear about something. Please note that our flesh is not yet perfected, but its desires are gradually transformed as it is submitted to the Spirit. For its perfection, we await our resurrection body. In the meantime, its passions can still rage and wage war against us. In this sense, our perfection is ongoing work that is not yet complete. But what does Paul say? “[W]e regard no one according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:16), which must also include ourselves. Therefore, we must categorically reject the idea that the flesh’s desires are our own. For to live according to the flesh (or to identify with the flesh) is to inevitably deceive ourselves back into sin, rendering the atonement practically ineffective. “For to set the mind on the flesh is death…” (Romans 8:6).
And there is yet another point on which I must make myself clear. It is not that we should take no responsibility for our sins, nor that we should think it is impossible for us to sin. Rather, we must accurately identify the source of our sinful passions and, in the case that we do sin, why it happened. If our spirits have been renewed, then sinful desire comes from the body of flesh, and the reason for sinful action is deception. If we sin, it is not because we truly wanted to do said thing but because we were deceived into identifying with the passions of the flesh. And if we have any doubt at all whether our hearts are truly pure, we can purify them in an instant with simple faith in Jesus, setting the intent of our hearts on him, which is true repentance.
There is no need for guilt or condemnation, only a need to think better and grow in faith. We are “transformed by the renewal of [our] mind[s]” (Romans 12:2). In this sense, also, we have not yet been perfected, for our minds still need to be renewed. But that being the case, it is not so much that we have been defiled but deceived. We have not been in sin but in infancy. We have not been evil but ignorant. We have not been wicked but weak. We have not been complicit but gullible. I am speaking, of course, to those who have already been cleansed by the blood. We do not need more cleansing now; we need more faith. And those who willfully continue in deception prove themselves to be transgressors (see Galatians 2:18).
Whether or not sinless perfection is attainable in this life, at least in the sense that we have meant it for so long, may not be as important as we thought. It is true that sanctification is a process in one sense, for we must mature in our thinking (or grow in faith) to walk by the Spirit and put to death the deeds of the body (see Romans 8:13). But the process will never happen (let alone be completed) if we are not focusing on the finished work of Jesus, who has already cleansed us, removing sin from our hearts. This is the reason we have been lacking in the spiritual fruit. We will never bear the fruit of righteousness if we do not believe he has made us righteous. “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:9).
Make no mistake. You cannot walk in the Light if you are walking by sight. Believe that you are clean and righteous by the Spirit of God within you, and see for yourself how this transforms your daily life.
Probably the toughest chapter to write so far. So much pain around continuing to believe I have to sin. Or that I (flesh and all) have to be sinless to be pure - flesh sinless equals pure in heart.
Thanks!