What is Biblical faith?

 Read Hebrews 11.

What a cavalcade of Old Testament heroes!  Do not miss the elements that are common to all of these individuals.

All of them endured times of great testing, unthinkable suffering, and some were killed.
All of them looked forward to a time, a place, and rewards beyond this life.
All of them pleased God and are commended by Him, though none of them were perfect.

What kept them encouraged in the tough times and what gave them strength to endure was the certainty of their faith in the living God.  They trusted His promises of acceptance, commendation, and an eternal home more than the accumulation of stuff in this life.  At the root of their faith was that everything in this life is temporal and one day every person will leave 100% of it behind.

How can we have that type of faith?
1. Biblical faith recognizes the unseen. (v.13)
The Apostle Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10.  We do not understand the things of God with our eyes and ears but God has revealed them to us by the Holy Spirit.  Even though Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died without ever seeing the complete fulfillment of what God promised in Genesis 12, they could see it with the eyes of faith.  Even though none of us were present when God created the heavens and the earth by His spoken command (v.3), by faith we embrace God's word.  If one only places trust in what they can physically see and touch, they will never come to believe spiritual truth.  As opposed to blind faith, true faith says, "Believing is seeing."

2. Biblical faith establishes and maintains a personal relationship with God. (v.16)
Jesus explained this in John 14:1-6.  It is only through personal faith in Him that any person can ever have a relationship with God.  This is the only way one becomes a part of the family of God.  Jesus said that He would go and prepare an eternal place for His followers.  That is repeated here: "for he has prepared for them a city."  That new place is described in Revelation 21-22.  Our real hope is not here but there.

3. Biblical faith produces a better result. (vv.35 and 40)
If the message of the book of Hebrews were to be reduced to one word, it would have to be the word "better".  It appears no less than thirteen times in these thirteen chapters as it contrasts the Old Covenant with the New and this earthly life with the eternal one to come.  It is far too easy for even the followers of Christ to be caught up in measuring life by the world's standards and missing the "better".  Too many spend all their efforts and resources trying to be successful in this life instead of investing in things that will count eternally.  One is a losing investment.  The other will be paying dividends forever. 

Why did these heroes keep the faith despite all adversity?  "...so that they might rise again to a better life." (v.35)  And that no one can ever take away.