How do we know God is holy and cannot clear the guilty?

God's holiness is integral to His nature and is articulated in Exodus 34:7, where it states that He will by no means clear the guilty. This reflects God's commitment to justice; sin must be addressed, and punishment must be meted out. The idea that God can simply pardon sinners without regard for justice undermines His holiness. God's righteousness demands that every transgression must be accounted for, which is why believers find hope in the work of Christ. Through His sacrificial death, Christ bore the punishment for the sins of His people, enabling God to be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). This duality emphasizes that, while God cannot clear the guilty on His own accord, He has made a way through Christ for sinners to be righteously redeemed.