The letter to the Hebrews, chapter 11, is one of my favourite chapters in the whole Bible. It begins with a simple definition of faith as 'being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see' (NIV), and then goes on to give examples of how 'by faith' many patriarchs and leaders of the Old Testament times achieved great things. Eventually the writer realises that the list is going to be too long, and concludes his summary by referring without name to those 'who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised ...'

I think it is right to try to distinguish between belief and faith. There is no great merit in belief. Even the demons believe in God, we are reminded (James 2:19) and shudder! Belief is merely a factually correct opinion about something. Faith goes further. By faith 'Noah ... built an ark (Heb 11:7) ... Abraham obeyed and went (11:8) ...' and so on. The formula of the whole chapter is 'by faith x did y.'

The New Testament is full of reminders of the importance of faith. By grace we are saved, through faith, and this not of ourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). We are justified by faith in Christ, not by observing the law (Gal 2:16). We live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal 2:20). And these few quotations are but a sample of the many statements about the centrality of 'faith', one of the three qualities that 'abide' (faith, hope and love).

So let us understand what faith is: it is the response we make to the revelation we receive. Every revelation by which God draws near to us is an undeserved gift (which is what 'grace' means); we will all receive this in different ways; how we respond is what makes the difference. Will we build a barge in the middle of nowhere, miles from the sea, to the ridicule of all our neighbours, because we have heard God's voice telling us to? Will we uproot ourselves and our family, and travel to a new land because we have heard this instruction to go? By faith Noah built, and Abraham went. And those were just two examples of those who by faith conquered kingdoms, and so on.

There is a wonderful picture, 'The Light of the World', in St Paul's cathedral illustrating the famous saying 'Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in ... (Revelation 3:20). To 'hear' is belief; to 'open' is faith. The picture shows that the door Christ is knocking on has no handle on the outside. It can only be opened by the one who is inside.