Will Christians be judged by God?

A friend put a question to me that sparked some important reflection for me:
If we are forgiven for our sins when we confess them and God wipes them away, what are we going to be judged for on judgement day?

My answer:

1) She asked one of the toughest questions I have tried to answer. It's not tough because the Bible doesn't address it directly (like what happens to a baby who dies?) but because there is so much spread across different parts of the Bible addressed to difference original audiences.

2) I think the general focus of Scripture is on finishing this life faithfully in light of Jesus' high calling on us. This can be as basic as not giving up under hardships (this is the force of Hebrews 10:19-39, which applies the 'full forgiveness' we receive in Christ [Heb. 10:1-18] to perseverance, illustrating it with examples of persevering faith [Heb. 11]). It can be framed positively, pointing to disciples' responsibility to carry on the mission of our Master (parable of the talents Matt. 25:14-30, but all of Matt. 24-25 urges disciples to faithfulness as the way to be prepared for the end).

3) The lost will certainly be judged by their works, but it seems that followers of Jesus will be 'found in Christ' (Rev. 20:11-15; Phil. 3:2-16 is Paul's personal application of this idea). Christians' obedience is not a matter of indifference, as though a disciple need not try to follow the Master in order to enjoy eternal life. It seems more like we all must obey fully and to the end, regardless of when we start or of how our performance stacks up to one another. In the end our reward for obedience is infinitely greater than our good works deserve. We obey and spend our lives serving Jesus in starts and stops, but then the payoff at the end is the full reward of Jesus' perfect obedience and victory. For this idea, check out the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16), the prodigal son & his brother (Luke 15), how condemnation compares to eternal life (John 3:16-21), who gets a crown (2Tim. 4:6-8), and why Jesus will inflict vengeance on some but rescue others when he returns (2Thess. 1:3-12).