Believe it or not but there is a time coming when all will stand before God and give account for their life. Saying this is a fairy tale does not make a difference. God sent His Son to redeem mankind so that all who believe would not perish but have everlasting life. We will enter a time of judgement before God. Some may look at Matthew 16:27 and think they must earn their way but what they do. Scripture says two clear points on this. 1. The only work that God requires is that we believe in the redeeming work of His son. 2. It is not by works we are saved but by the grace of God, lest any man should boast. This may seem contradictory at first glance – Not by works yet judged by what we have done. In short if we believe then we have said in our heart that we trust in Christ not only for salvation/redemption but also for leading us through life in a manner that honors and glorifies God. Believing/Trusting is not a one and done event but rather a life long commitment to humbly follow and serve the God of our salvation.
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words
Jude 1:14
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him
Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done