{"id":35596,"date":"2025-04-16T21:56:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T04:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?post_type=portfolio&p=35596"},"modified":"2025-04-16T22:32:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T05:32:35","slug":"2025-free","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2025-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesus Frees You from Judgment"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Rick Warren<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who hear my words and believe in him who sent me have eternal life. They will not be judged<\/strong>.\u201d John 5:24 (GNT)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Have you ever imagined something like this? It\u2019s the day of judgment. You\u2019re standing outside the gates of heaven in a really long line. You slowly move forward, one step at a time.<\/p>\n

As you get closer, you start to sweat and wonder, \u201cAm I going to get in? Am I going to make it? Is God going to use a giant TV screen to show every stupid or evil thing I\u2019ve ever done? Will my every sin be exposed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I have good news for you. The Bible says that those who believe in Jesus\u2014his death and resurrection\u2014will not be judged (John 3:18). Jesus has promised you that.<\/p>\n

In other words, when you get to heaven, Jesus will greet you with open arms. He\u2019ll welcome you home because, as a believer, you belong to the family of God.<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection release you from judgment. Is that good news? Oh, yeah!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When my friend Buddy was a child, his Sunday school teacher taught him God was sitting in heaven, writing down every bad thing that he ever did.<\/p>\n

She made the class sing a song every week that went, \u201cMy Lord is writing all the time. Writing, writing, writing all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buddy said, \u201cIt scared me. I just thought, \u2018I\u2019m never going to make it to heaven. My list is getting longer and longer.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that the way God treats you when put your faith in Christ? No! In fact, God is erasing, erasing, erasing all the time. Forgiving, forgiving, forgiving all the time. He\u2019s sitting in heaven, hitting the \u201cdelete\u201d button.<\/p>\n

How do I know this? The Bible says: \u201cGod is love\u201d (1 John 4:8 GNT), and love \u201ckeeps no record of wrongs\u201d (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV).<\/p>\n

If you put your trust in Jesus Christ and his love, your sins are wiped away. God\u2019s judgment is no longer something you need to fear. Because of Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection, you\u2019re free from judgment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Talk It Over<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 When you think of God, do you think of judgment or forgiveness? Why?
\n\u2022 How do Christ\u2019s death and resurrection change how you view God\u2019s judgment?
\n\u2022 If God doesn\u2019t keep a record of wrongs, why is it important to try to do the right thing?<\/p>\n

There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
\nThe Bible says in John 3:18 that those who believe in Jesus\u2014his death and resurrection\u2014will not be judged.<\/p>\n

Romans 8:1 says it in a different way: \u201cThere is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus\u201d (NLT).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re ready to accept that promise, to stop fearing God\u2019s judgment, and to commit your life to Jesus, then pray this prayer:
\n\u201cDear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I\u2019ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, and I will learn the purpose of my life. Instead of judging me, you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI confess my sin, and I believe you are God, my Savior. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Thank you that I don\u2019t have to earn it, deserve it, or work for it. It is your gift of grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday I\u2019m turning over every part of my life to you. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you, and I ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Jesus\u2019 name I pray. Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I\u2019d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":35603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[29],"class_list":["post-35596","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/35596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35596"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/35596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35604,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/35596\/revisions\/35604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35596"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=35596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}