No, this isn’t what it means. One of the Bible’s greatest truths is that when Jesus Christ died on the cross all our sins were transferred to Him, and as we put our faith and trust in Him we are forgiven — freely and fully. The Bible says, “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 2:13).

This is why we don’t need to fear God’s judgment once we have committed our lives to Christ, for now we’ve been cleansed of all our sins. We deserved God’s judgment, for we were guilty of breaking His law — but Christ took all our sins upon Himself, and He endured the judgment that we deserved. As the Bible says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Why, then, must we still stand before God some day, even as believers? The reason is so God can reward us for what we have done for Him. The Bible doesn’t explain in detail what those rewards may be — but it reminds us that we are still accountable to Him for how we live. Our greatest reward, however, will be to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23).

Is your goal to serve yourself — or to serve Christ? Make sure of your commitment to Him, and then put Him first in everything you do.