We look at 1 Peter 4:17 and see what the context is and what the Bible has supporting text that gives us better understanding.
1 Peter 4:17
For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
The Bible is pretty clear on the phrase "judgment must begin at the house of God" that comes from 1 Peter 4:17 in the Bible. It means God starts His process of judgement with His own believers or the church before dealing with the wicked or rest of the world that refuses to obey God and does not believe. We see what will happen at the Second Coming which is laid out by Christ Himself.
Matthew 25:31-34
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
The saints cannot simply go to heaven without a determination of their standing. Man is not immortal of self and doesnt go to straight to heaven or hell at death, and there is not any kind of judgment immediately after death. We see that it begins with the believers as the Bible declares in1 Peter 4:17, the judgment begins first for the house of God. And we find much more..
1 Peter 1:17
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
And we see this..
John 5:27
And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
And we find what shows who..
Romans 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
2 Cor. 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God and it begins at the house of God or believers, so all believers must repent and be converted, not just say they are... as we see in Acts 3.18-19
But those things, which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And you cant just claim ignorance when we come to the judgement seat of Christ, as the Bible makes clear.
Acts 17:30-31
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent: Because he has appointed a day, So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom he has ordained; He has given assurance of this to all men, by raising him from the dead.
Romans 2:15-16
. . .Which show the work of the law written in their hearts,...In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
The text, and context and supporting text clearly indicts that all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ, those who are judged worthy by Christ are covered with the blood of the lamb, have His robe of righteousness, and will be separated, the sheep from the goats/the saints from the wicked at the Second Coming of Christ when He comes to take His saints to heaven where He has prepare a place for them.
Now in 1 Peter 4:17, the 'us' refers to the saints while the rest or 'that obey not the gospel of God' are the wicked. So both the sheep and the goats have to be decided as Christ has to separate when He comes. This connects to directly to Matthew 25:31-34
Matthew 25:31-34
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Which Christ Himself declares and explains to the disciples, in countless verses but I will just give one to keep it simple.
Matthew 26:64
Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Now Christ has been given this as we see in John 5:27.
John 5:27
And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
And we see it in Jude saying that Enoch has also prophesized what you can see confirms these text.
Jude 1:14-15
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
So where does it get decided before He comes, well lets go first to the text showing that all will be judged, the sheep and the goats/saints and the wicked.
Romans 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
2 Cor. 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.
We see it says 'we all shall all' and 'we must all' so that is clear, then we must look to see where and I will give a text for context in Revelation.
Revelation 4:1-2
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
Notice the place is in heaven and a throne is set and the is one sitting on the throne, now compare to this courtroom scene in Daniel where judgement is being done.
Daniel 7:9-10
9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.