If God is all-powerful, why can't He simply forgive sin and be done with it? It's one of the most common objections to Christianity — and the answer reveals something most of us have never considered about what our sin actually costs.

In this episode of Clearview Today, we wrap up our study on the holiness of God by looking at why forgiveness was never free. Dr. Abidan Shah uses a simple illustration — a borrowed pen, broken and handed off — to show what happens every time we take something that belongs to God and twist it. Mercy is easy to give when it costs you nothing. But real forgiveness always has a price, and someone has to pay it.

We walk through Leviticus 17:11 and why blood represents both death and life, why the Old Testament sacrificial system was only ever a placeholder for the real thing, and how nearly every ancient culture on earth — Aztec, Egyptian, Hittite, Scandinavian, Irish — understood instinctively that someone had to die. What sets Scripture apart is that God didn't demand a substitute from us. He provided one Himself.

The episode closes in Isaiah 53, written centuries before the cross and describing it in detail, and then lands somewhere practical: the response to all of this is humility. There is nothing in you that you can take credit for. Begin every day grateful, and give yourself back to the God who paid for you.

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We know God is holy — but what does that word actually mean? In this episode, we pick up where yesterday's conversation left off and work through what Scripture reveals about the holiness of God: that He is absolutely pure, and that He is awful in the truest sense of the word — full of awe, a consuming fire.

We look at what happened every time someone encountered that holiness directly, from Moses hiding his face to Isaiah crying out that he was undone. We also talk honestly about how easy it is to carry a diminished, distorted view of God — bringing Him down to our level the way the Greeks did with their gods — and why the standard of righteousness was never the person next to us, but God Himself. The episode closes with real pastoral guidance: look at your sin honestly, but don't stay there. Conviction is meant to lead you to confession, forgiveness, and healing.

Dr. Shah writes a personal letter every week — reflections on Scripture, faith, and living it out with clarity and purpose. Join the family: https://abidanshah.com/join-the-family/

If you enjoyed the show, please like and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages, and also subscribe to our YouTube channel. This is an excellent way to stay connected to the Clearview team and ensure you don't miss a thing. Another great way to support the show is to use promo code TODAY when checking out at mightymuscadine.com.

To learn more about Clearview Church, visit us at clearviewbc.org. If you have any questions or want to contact us, email us at contact@clearviewtodayshow.com or text us at 252-429-6069.

Check out the links below for more content from Dr. Shah and the Clearview team!

Read - https://abidanshah.com/books/
Watch - https://www.youtube.com/@abidanshahphd
Listen - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sermons-by-abidan-shah-ph-d/id619888508
Clearview Worship - https://open.spotify.com/artist/2m3OQUdBsucUTj6AFHg81S

Support the show

Dr. Shah writes a personal letter every week — reflections on Scripture, faith, and living it out with clarity and purpose.

GET THE LETTER

If you enjoyed the show, please like and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages, and also subscribe to our YouTube channel. This is an excellent way to stay connected to the Clearview team and ensure you don't miss a thing.

PRE-ORDER BYZANTINE TEXTFORM: https://subsplash.com/u/-MPJ586/forms/d/1090d08a-49c0-498a-ad97-5c0fd575fa9e

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:

MIGHTY MUSCADINE SUPPLEMENTS

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KEEP YOUR KIDS PROTECTED ONLINE

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>> DR SHAH'S BOOKS
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It's easy to relate to God through attributes we can grasp — love, grace, forgiveness. But holiness is different. In this episode, we continue our Getting to Know God series by starting where Scripture starts: not with God's love or His creative power, but with His holiness, the central attribute that everything else about Him rests on.

We talk about why holiness is so hard for us to even discuss — because sin is so woven into who we are that we've grown numb to it — and why understanding the weight of sin is the doorway to understanding God at all. From the temple vessels to the stained-shirt problem to the truth that even one sin is enough to separate us from a holy God, we work toward a beautiful conclusion: you can't truly grasp the love of God until you first grasp His holiness.

Support the show

Dr. Shah writes a personal letter every week — reflections on Scripture, faith, and living it out with clarity and purpose.

GET THE LETTER

If you enjoyed the show, please like and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages, and also subscribe to our YouTube channel. This is an excellent way to stay connected to the Clearview team and ensure you don't miss a thing.

PRE-ORDER BYZANTINE TEXTFORM: https://subsplash.com/u/-MPJ586/forms/d/1090d08a-49c0-498a-ad97-5c0fd575fa9e

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:

MIGHTY MUSCADINE SUPPLEMENTS

LEBLEU ULTRA-PURE WATER

KEEP YOUR KIDS PROTECTED ONLINE

---

>> DR SHAH'S BOOKS
>> SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE
>> CHECK OUT ALL OUR SHOWS