Faith is the currency of heaven. It is the means by which the provisions made by the grace of God are translated into the vessels of need. Without faith we receive nothing from God, and anything not of faith is SIN. Faith is truly, the only issue that matters.
Faith is not mere belief but reliant trust. It is not just an acknowledgement, for instance, of the existence of God, but an assessment of his character as well--he is reliable, trustworthy, responsive. And it is yet more than that, it is the impetus for reaction on the part of the believer: "because God is, because God is trustworthy, I will act on what he's said."
Faith is essential to eternity. The Apostle Paul lists it as one of the eternal verities, even though classifying it as not as great as love. That makes sense if you think about it. Love is a more "sight" oriented experience that actually entails reliant trust, whereas faith is most functional when sight is not truly operative. Eternity will be a realm of "sight".
Faith will still be necessary, however. For humans to walk in the image of God (like unto Christ, that is), they have to have absolute trust in God. They will have to willingly rely on his judgment rather than their own; they will have to trust God in order to walk in absolute agreement with him. They will still be, afterall, creatures made in the image of God, capable of an independent choice.
Faith has always been the only issue between God and mankind. From the Garden of Eden until this very moment, all that God has wanted from human beings is for them to look upon him with reliant trust. Works have never been determinative, because there is really nothing we can do for God anyhow. He does have big plans for us, but we have to trust God in order to be trusted by God.
