If Jesus paid my debt, am I automatically going to heaven?
So many people today see God in a juridical way. They think they had a debt, it was wiped out by Christ on the cross, and now they are good to go no matter what for the rest of existence. But when you read the Gospels, you don't see this in the teaching of Christ. In fact, Christ is constantly contradicting this understanding, and everything he said was said for the church, for believers.
The Holy Fathers tell us that God doesn't even choose people to go to hell. Every person will one day encounter Christ in all of his glory, and that glory will shine into the very depths of their soul. Those who have become like him will dwell and abide with him. But for those who have turned their hearts hard against Christ, that light will become a consuming fire, and that is the understanding of hell.
People say hell is where God is not, but that's an impossibility. God is everywhere. The fire of hell is the glory of God for those who are unprepared to encounter it.

