The question from the title is, is Heaven the place where people are set to go when the time comes and only “bad” people work themselves into Hell? My answer is, NO! It is actually the other way. We are defaulted to Hell.
“23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” — Romans 3:23 (ESV)
Looking at the above verse, the key phrase to back up the defaulted destination is Hell would be the underlined, “all have sinned”. Not, some have sinned or a few have sinned, but “all have sinned”. This was due to events that occurred in the beginning with Adam and Eve and their encounter with Satan and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had given man and woman only one restriction in the garden and Satan went right after it and enticed the first sin against God. From that point on, all that were and come after them are sinners.
In short, thanks to our ancestors, we are what we are, sinners in the eyes of God. That does not mean He does not love and want more for us though. And to get that more, just like with everything, there is a cost. The interesting thing is that the cost was paid by Jesus for us.
“8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8 (ESV)
So, we are all sinners and our default destination is Hell. We needed a way out and God provided that in Jesus and His death in our place. The immediate thought is that well, I am good then, Jesus paid the debt and now my destination has been changed. Well, not exactly. Yes the way to get to Heaven has been provided, but we still have to travel that road to get to the destination. And that road is small.
“14For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” – Matthew 7:14 (ESV)
One might think well, I will just get on that narrow road and get to Heaven. Yes, that is the idea, but see that it is narrow and only a few find the road. There is only one way onto the road that leads to Heaven and that is through Jesus.
“6Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” – John 14:6 (ESV)
So, NO, Heaven is not the default destination for us all. We are defaulted to Hell and all of the anguish, punishment, and darkness that is there. But, we have a way to get to Heaven and that is through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He died so I did not have to. He endured the anguish, punishment, and darkness so that could avoid it. He provided the only way for me, a sinner, to change my final destination to Heaven.
What is your thought about your destination? So you believe that you are headed to Heaven by default? What if you were to realize that the default for all us sinners is Hell and that to get to Heaven we have to take the narrow road provided by Jesus Christ?
Trevor's Thoughts 