Dear Christian friends:

How can we know if we are a true Christian or a false Christian? What is a good test of faith? In our text we have a good test of faith. The test is: Do you give thanks always and at all times? A true Christian gives thanks even when he is in trouble, sick or dying. When Dr. John L. Salvner, who preached to the deaf for 60 years, lay dying in the hospital he asked me to read Psalm 103 to him. Psalm 103 is a beautiful song of thanksgiving to God. False Christians give a little thanks when they are healthy and have good times. When bad times come they give up faith and hope in God; yes they even complain and become upset and angry against God for letting such big trouble happen to them.


A true Christian thanks God even when he has bad times. We should not complain; we are sinners and therefore deserve no good times from God. The 10 lepers in our text here said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy upon us," (verse 13) By asking for mercy they confess that they are not worthy to receive Jesus' help. Jacob also said,"Lord, I am not worthy." So, also, we must confess, “Lord, I am not worthy. I am a sinner." Because we are sinners, we deserve nothing good from God, not even one drop of water. We deserve the opposite of good things - bad things: His anger and displeasure, death and eternal condemnation in hell.

Before God we are all beggars like the ten lepers in our text. We can only pray,"God show mercy to me a sinner." If we are humble like that and thank God even when we have bad times, sickness and while dying, then we know that we have true faith. We have faith in God's mercy and in His Son Jesus Christ our Savior. But if we thank God only in good times and complain in bad times it is a question if we really have true faith in our hearts.

A true Christian also thanks God in good times. He does not forget God when he has good health and plenty of money. Some people appear to trust God and cry to God in time of trouble, but when God helps them and gives them back their health and money they quickly forget God. Nine of the ten lepers were like that. When they were very sick and dying with that terrible disease of leprosy they cried and cried to Jesus for mercy and help. They seemed to have true faith in God, but they did not really believe in God. If they really believed in God, they would have returned to thank Jesus like the one leper did. Jesus asked: "Ten men became clean, right? But where are the Nine?" These nine had what is called "scared-to-death-religion". They were like many soldiers in time of battle and danger. In the war they prayed to God to save them, but in peace time they no longer pray to Him or serve Him.

If you only pray to God in time of danger or trouble and fail to pray to Him in time of safety and peace, you do not have much faith if any. A true believer is like the one leper who continued to pray to God and serve and thank God no matter what his earthly situation was: whether he was sick or well, rich or poor, living or dying.

God usually gives us many more good days than bad days during our lifetime upon this earth. And He knows the right amount of good and the right amount of bad to give to each one of us. He does not give the same amount of bad times to us all. One Christian may have much a harder time and much harder burden to bear than another. That does not mean that he is a worse Christian or a better Christian. God knows what amount of good days and what amount of bad days each one of us needs to keep us on the right way to heaven. Let us trust in Him regardless of our situation or condition. Let us sing with the hymn writer, Horatius Bonar:

Thy way, not mine, 0 Lord,
However dark it be.
Lead me by Thine own hand;
Choose Thou the path for me.

I dare not choose my lot;
I would not if I might.
Choose Thou for me, my God;
So shall I walk aright.

Choose Thou for me my friends,
My sickness or my health;
Choose Thou my cares for me,
My poverty or wealth.

Not mine, not mine the choice
In things great or small;
Be Thou my Guide, my Strength,
My Wisdom and my All.
(Thy Way, not Mine, O Lord,
Hymn - Verses 1, 3, 6,7)

Amen.