He That Is Spiritual III

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Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder and first chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary (the largest Protestant seminary on earth) wrote a book in 1918, He That Is Spiritual, to delineate the so-called carnal Christian as contrasted with the so-called spiritual ones. An unbeliever was called the natural man. This dichotomy of believers is unbiblical and misleading. Any Christian can become carnal by sin, and all he needs to do is to confess it per 1 John 1:9--carnality is no perpetual or permanent state. We all live in a state of perpetual and progressive confession and repentance--the unrepentant person is not saved. John says that a Christian doesn't continue in sin, and this means he makes it his way of life, though he may live a defeated life, there is some life to his faith or it is dead faith producing no works, which cannot save.

The whole purpose of faith is to produce the workmanship of God, foreordained by God, that we should walk in it (cf. Eph. 2:10). Spiritual believers are not those who go overboard or are fanatical or so-called Jesus freaks, but those who walk with God in the Spirit. They are realizing their potential of the fruit of the Spirit, and of knowing the Lord. The Christian life that is spiritual is one that enjoys fellowship with God and other believers. All believers are exhorted to read the Bible, witness, and pray; not just the clergy.


The spiritual man has relinquished ownership and the throne of his life to Christ, he has surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, and he lives the substituted or exchanged life with Christ living through him. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (cf. Gal. 2:20). This can only be accomplished by a believer in sync with God's will, and willing to follow Jesus wherever he may lead. The spiritual man has learned the secret of "inhabitation," as opposed to "imitation."

The obedient Christian does these things and the only test of faith is obedience. A. W. Tozer, in I Call it Heresy!, says: "The Lord will not save those whom He cannot command. He will not divide His offices. You cannot believe in a half-Christ. We take Him for what He is --the anointed Saviour and Lord...." We see our faith in action by our good works according to James. Paul would say we see our good works by our faith. They go hand in hand. In other words: As Lutheran martyr, preacher, and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient, only he who is obedient believes." (Note that it was by faith that Abraham obeyed, as written in Heb. 11:8.) The ultimate result is the fruit of a changed life, not an ascetic or mystic one that parades or charades as spiritual.


The spiritual man is appraised of no one, because of the wisdom of God and, if we have the Spirit, we are spiritual. The natural man cannot comprehend spiritual truth, for Satan has blinded his eyes. We need the eyes of our hearts opened to see spiritual truths. Some believers are more mature in the faith and know the Lord better, but all of them are spiritual. There's no class system or caste system in Christianity, we are all brethren and one in Christ. We should not idolize our fellow believers, even if they seem to be spiritual giants. We should never try to give the impression we are more "spiritual" than other believers or have a holier-than-thou attitude. By the same token, we shouldn't be intimidated by others and develop an inferiority complex. Christ's church has no spiritual elite or privileged class, for God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality (cf. Acts 10:34, Rom. 2:11).

We all have different gifts and we don't have anything the Lord has not given us (cf. 1 Cor. 4:7). It is the Spirit that matters, not the gift that makes us spiritual. In exercising one's gift, what matters is the spirit that he uses it in. Believers have no excuse not to understand Scripture, pray, and witness and should enjoy the fruits of fellowship and worship in the body because they have the illuminating ministry of the Spirit.


We are all works in progress and improving from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17); no one can claim to have "arrived" or to have met the goal and won the prize (cf. Phil. 3:13-14). We are in the process of maturing in Christ, but it is the direction we are going that counts and is the test, while perfection is the standard (cf. Matt. 5:48). We must bear fruit as proof of our faith, or it is bogus--no fruit means no faith, and ergo no salvation. (Jesus said we shall know them by their fruits in Matt. 7:16.) We can only find meaning, purpose, and fulfillment ultimately in Christ: "There is a God-shaped blank, and only God can fill it." (old axiom). Soli Deo Gloria!

He That Is Spiritual II

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God" (Rom. 8:14).



It has been said that a Christian has a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which He loves, a voice through which He speaks, and hands through which He helps--this is the epitome of spirituality--to know Christ and make Him known.


That was the title of the 1918 book by Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, that made him a renowned and celebrated theologian. Who is? This is a vital and bona fide question: Like someone has said, "We have found all the questions, now let's find the answers!" When we are spiritual we are exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in a manifold manner. There is no certain manifestation, such as talking about Jesus or the Bible. Sometimes just touching base with someone in love and charity and meeting their needs is genuine fellowship and expression of being spiritual. There are telltale signs of spirituality: A famous saying goes thus: Where there is love there is joy; where there is joy there is hope; where there is hope there is peace; where there is peace there is Jesus! I have learned this and have observed it: God meets us where we are and knows where we are! We don't always need someone to preach at us, but sometimes we need a listening and sympathetic ear.


Just think of all the possibilities of expressing the nine winsome graces given by the filling of the Holy Spirit. Wherever two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name, there He is. The one who is spiritual simply walks in the Spirit and has continual fellowship with the Lord (keeping short accounts of his sins and confessing them per 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The spiritual one simply is in touch with God and meets people's needs and is not self-centered, but Christ-centered. He lives for Christ and not for himself. This does not necessarily refer to a level of maturity or of being mature per se, because sometimes a baby believer can be more spiritual than the seasoned.


No one can claim to be always spiritual or that they have "arrived" at such a point of perfection, of not being conscious of sin or shortcomings. Sometimes the wisest remarks can proceed out of the mouths of babes, as Jesus noticed: Psalm 8:2 says, "Through the praise of children and infants..." I believe children can even be used by God: a child's voice convicted St. Augustine said: "Take and read, take and read."


He that is spiritual simply walks with the Lord as Enoch and Noah ("Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God")-and we have this privilege too! It is a "faith-walk" because "we walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:17). There is no veneer to see through or guise of spirituality, such as hypocrisy (he has nothing to hide and is straightforward in speech), but a genuineness and authenticity in action. He is the real thing, an original! He's not out to outshine someone or be a rival. "The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments' (1 Cor. 2:15). There is a certain natural ability to discern the Spirit, in other words. Whatever he does, he does to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31)!


There is no inherent dichotomy or division of believers into classes of spiritual and non-spiritual, first-class and second-class, or what Chafer mistakenly believed to be carnal and spiritual Christians. Just like it is wrong to have a "holier than thou" attitude (cf. Isa. 65:5), it is wrong to deceive yourself into thinking you are more spiritual than your brethren--you either are spiritual or you're not--there are no degrees to graduate to.


Any believer can be carnal or spiritual at any given period of time, it is not a given (each day one must start all over in their walk: "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut. 33:25). "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it," says Psalm 118:24), and he must "abide in Christ" or stay in fellowship with God in order to walk in step with Him. The most spiritually mature can indeed fall into sin like David did but he will ultimately recover and his carnality will not be a permanent or continuous state. The continuity of our status in Christ never changes; only our state of fellowship and relationship and/or sanctification.


This doctrine need not be problematic or an issue at all: "So I say, walk by the Spirit and you shall not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5:16). We are indeed free in Christ: not free to live according to the flesh and our old nature, but power to live in the new nature or spirit. The old nature knows no law, the new nature needs no law! In other words: Freedom to do what we ought, not what we want! We've never had the right to do what is right in our own eyes or to do what is scripturally wrong. In sum, "So we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step [pace] with the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25). Soli Deo Gloria!

He That Is Spiritual

 It has been said that a Christian has a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which He loves, a voice through which He speaks, and hands through which He helps--this is the epitome of spirituality--to know Christ and make Him known.

"O that they were wise, that they would understand this, that they would consider their latter end!" (Deut. 32:29, KJV).


That was the title of the 1918 book by Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, that made him a renowned and celebrated theologian.  Who is?  This is a vital and bona fide question:  Like G. K. Chesterton has said, "We have found all the questions, now let's find the answers!"  When we are spiritual we are exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in a manifold manner.  There is no certain manifestation, such as talking about Jesus or the Bible.  Sometimes just touching base with someone in love and charity and meeting their needs is genuine fellowship and expression of being spiritual. There are telltale signs of spirituality:  A famous saying goes thus:  Where there is love there is joy; where there is joy there is hope; where there is hope there is peace; where there is peace there is Jesus!  I have learned this and have observed it:  God meets us where we are and knows where we are!  We don't always need someone to preach at us, but sometimes we need a listening and sympathetic ear.


Just think of all the possibilities of expressing the nine winsome graces given by the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Wherever two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name, there He is.  The one who is spiritual simply walks in the Spirit and has continual fellowship with the Lord (keeping short accounts of his sins and confessing them per 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  The spiritual one simply is in touch with God and meets people's needs and is not self-centered, but Christ-centered.  He lives for Christ and not for himself.  This does not necessarily refer to a level of maturity or of being mature per se, because sometimes a baby believer can be more spiritual than the seasoned.


No one can claim to be always spiritual or that they have "arrived" at such a point of perfection, of not being conscious of sin or shortcomings.  Sometimes the wisest remarks can proceed out of the mouths of infants (cf. Matt. 21:16), as Jesus noticed:  Psalm 8:2 says, "Through the praise of children and infants..."  I believe children can even be used by God: a child's voice convicted St. Augustine said:  "Take and read, take and read."  Proverbs 20:9, HCSB, says, "'Who can say ,"I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed from my sin?'"

He that is spiritual simply walks with the Lord as Enoch and Noah ("Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God," Gen. 6:9)--and we have this privilege too!  It is a "faith-walk" because "we walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7).  There is no veneer to see through or guise of spirituality, such as hypocrisy (he has nothing to hide and is straightforward in speech), but a genuineness and authenticity in action. He is the real thing, an original!  He's not out to outshine someone or be a rival.  "The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments'  (1 Cor. 2:15).  There is a certain natural ability to discern the Spirit, in other words.  Whatever he does, he does to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31)!


There is no inherent dichotomy or division of believers into classes of spiritual and non-spiritual, first-class and second-class, or what Chafer mistakenly believed to be carnal and spiritual Christians. Just like it is wrong to have a "holier than thou" attitude (cf. Isa. 65:5), it is wrong to deceive yourself into thinking you are more spiritual than your brethren--you either are spiritual or you're not--there are no degrees to graduate to.   Any believer can be carnal or spiritual at any given period of time, it is not a given (each day one must start all over in their walk:  "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut. 33:25).  "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it," says Psalm 118:24), and he must "abide in Christ" or stay in fellowship with God in order to walk in step with Him.  The most spiritually mature can indeed fall into sin like David did but he will ultimately recover and his carnality will not be a permanent or continuous state. The continuity of our status in Christ never changes; only our state of fellowship and relationship and/or sanctification.

This doctrine need not be problematic or an issue at all:  "So I say, walk by the Spirit and you shall not gratify the desires of the flesh"  (Gal. 5:16). We are indeed free in Christ:  not free to live according to the flesh and our old nature, but power to live in the new nature or spirit.  The old nature knows no law, the new nature needs no law!  In other words:  Freedom to do what we ought, not what we want! We've never had the right to do what is right in our own eyes or to do what is scripturally wrong.  In sum,  "So we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step [pace] with the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25).   Soli Deo Gloria!

What Spirit Do You Have?

"We know that we are the children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1 John 5:19, NIV).  
"... And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ" (Rom. 8:9, NIV).  
"So the preaching about God flourished, the number of disciples in Jerusalem multiplied greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7, HCSB).

The world is possessed with the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience (cf. Eph. 2:2) and the spirit of error.  They don't know the truth to set them free (cf. John 8:32), which God perchance may grant them (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25).  There is the spirit of the world that we possessed before salvation and followed according to the course of Satan and his minions and authorities. We are set free from his power and he cannot touch us (1 John 5:18), for we are more than conquerors.  Satan is a liar and the father of liars (cf. John 8:44), and all men are born liars (cf Psa. 116:11) and follow suit.  There is only one true God who cannot lie (cf. Titus 1:2).

Christians possess two natures:  the old man and the new man after Christ's image.  The one we feed the most assumes the most authority over our lives; there are no carnal believers by nature, but believers can become temporarily carnal and struggle in the flesh. The two spirits are not like the yin/yang of Eastern philosophy, but evil is only a perversion and deprivation of the good.  There is no such thing as pure evil because it is a parasite on the good and the deception is that it may contain an element of truth, just enough to inoculate one from the real thing and make him immune to the truth. We must always be vigilant to exercise the authority, being watchful in the same, that we have in Christ's name to tread on the enemy and claim our victory in Christ.  We need not live in defeat or even become defeatists.  "The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God..." (Rom. 8:7, NIV).

It is paramount that we periodically test the spirit within us to see whether Christ is present or not, especially during the Lord's Supper. "Everyone should examine themselves..." (cf. 1 Cor. 11:28, NIV).  We must always be on the watch for false teachers, a false gospel, a false Christ, and a false spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4) because Satan seeks whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7) and we must test the spirits and contend for the faith (cf. Jude v. 3), lest heresy creeps in and corrupt the fellowship. The caveat we ought to heed is that Satan uses our vocabulary, but his own dictionary!  He preaches another Jesus, another gospel, another spirit. But those who know their God shall be strong and resist him (cf. Dan. 11:32).

Even Christians can become taken in by or buy into the wrong worldview and the philosophies of the devil:  winner take all; God helps those who help themselves; look out for number one; each man for himself; survival of the fittest; the law of the jungle; tit for tat; do unto them as they do unto you; being good without God, and even being moral and religious without religion or God as the moral center of the universe.  There are many crutches the world resorts to atheism as an excuse for sin; cynicism such as getting even, not mad; escapism, such as tripping out on drugs, escaping reality, and getting high; supernaturalism, such as dabbling in the occult; and humanism, or believing in self-help, that man can solve his own problems, and pop psychology; or believing in man-made rules and theories that contradict God and dethrone Him while exalting man, and making a name for himself.

We must always put these pseudo-philosophies into perspective and realize that the Bible is the only crutch that is truly reliable and will not fail us. NB: The point should be made that everyone has a crutch, whether they admit it or not just like everyone worships something or someone because that is what we are hard-wired for (worship) and it's only natural.

True spirituality is the only answer to our problems and we must know the Answerer via the Scriptures and spiritual sanctification. We must start with God to solve our problems, not start with man and try to escape God or deny Him.  The Bible is the only true and final authority that we can rely on and believe in without contradicting God's nature and being true to human nature.  And the way to become cognizant of the forces of evil is to "gird up the loins of [our] mind", know the Word (Ignorance isn't bliss!), have a foundation in sound doctrine ("Knowledge is power!" according to Sir Francis Bacon cf. Prov. 25:4), and beware lest we fall into temptation, for Satan "seeks whom he may devour" (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7) like a roaring lion--no one is immune!

We can overcome the forces of darkness and transform the culture, turning the world upside down like the first believers did to Rome with the right Spirit indwelling us; however, we must become renewed in the spirit of our minds not conforming to the course of this world. For thinking right and doing right can be distinguished, but not separated--they must go hand in hand! Some people just need to get their thinking straightened out.  We must long to do the right thing, not the expedient thing or pragmatic alternative.  We are happy serving others!

Finally, there's a way to confirm our calling and election and that we possess Jesus ("He who has the Son has life," 1 John 5:12):  by the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God," cf. Rom. 8:16).        Soli Deo Gloria!

He That Is Spiritual

It has been said that a Christian has a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which He loves, a voice through which He speaks, and hands through which He helps--this is the epitome of spirituality--to know Christ and make Him known.
"O that they were wise, that they would understand this, that they would consider their latter end!" (Deut. 32:29, KJV).

That was the title of the 1918 book by Lewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, that made him a renowned and celebrated theologian.  Who is?  This is a vital and bona fide question:  Like G. K. Chesterton has said, "We have found all the questions, now let's find the answers!"  When we are spiritual we are exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit in a manifold manner.  There is no certain manifestation, such as talking about Jesus or the Bible.  Sometimes just touching base with someone in love and charity and meeting their needs is genuine fellowship and expression of being spiritual. There are telltale signs of spirituality:  A famous saying goes thus:  Where there is love there is joy; where there is joy there is hope; where there is hope there is peace; where there is peace there is Jesus!  I have learned this and have observed it:  God meets us where we are and knows where we are!  We don't always need someone to preach at us, but sometimes we need a listening and sympathetic ear.

Just think of all the possibilities of expressing the nine winsome graces given by the filling of the Holy Spirit.  Wherever two or three are gathered together in Jesus' name, there He is.  The one who is spiritual simply walks in the Spirit and has continual fellowship with the Lord (keeping short accounts of his sins and confessing them per 1 John 1:9:  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  The spiritual one simply is in touch with God and meets people's needs and is not self-centered, but Christ-centered.  He lives for Christ and not for himself.  This does not necessarily refer to a level of maturity or of being mature per se, because sometimes a baby believer can be more spiritual than the seasoned.

No one can claim to be always spiritual or that they have "arrived" at such a point of perfection, of not being conscious of sin or shortcomings.  Sometimes the wisest remarks can proceed out of the mouths of infants (cf. Matt. 21:16), as Jesus noticed:  Psalm 8:2 says, "Through the praise of children and infants..."  I believe children can even be used by God: a child's voice convicted St. Augustine said:  "Take and read, take and read."  Proverbs 20:9, HCSB, says, "'Who can say ,"I have kept my heart pure; I am cleansed form my sin?'"

He that is spiritual simply walks with the Lord as Enoch and Noah ("Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God," Gen. 6:9)--and we have this privilege too!  It is a "faith-walk" because "we walk by faith, and not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7).  There is no veneer to see through or guise of spirituality, such as hypocrisy (he has nothing to hide and is straightforward in speech), but a genuineness and authenticity in action. He is the real thing, an original!  He's not out to outshine someone or be a rival.  "The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments'  (1 Cor. 2:15).  There is a certain natural ability to discern the Spirit, in other words.  Whatever he does, he does to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31)!

There is no inherent dichotomy or division of believers into classes of spiritual and non-spiritual, first-class and second-class, or what Chafer mistakenly believed to be carnal and spiritual Christians. Just like it is wrong to have a "holier than thou" attitude (cf. Isa. 65:5), it is wrong to deceive yourself into thinking you are more spiritual than your brethren--you either are spiritual or you're not--there are no degrees to graduate to.   Any believer can be carnal or spiritual at any given period of time, it is not a given (each day one must start all over in their walk:  "As thy days, so shall thy strength be" (Deut. 33:25).  "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it," says Psalm 118:24), and he must "abide in Christ" or stay in fellowship with God in order to walk in step with Him.  The most spiritually mature can indeed fall into sin like David did but he will ultimately recover and his carnality will not be a permanent or continuous state. The continuity of our status in Christ never changes; only our state of fellowship and relationship and/or sanctification.

This doctrine need not be problematic or an issue at all:  "So I say, walk by the Spirit and you shall not gratify the desires of the flesh"  (Gal. 5:16). We are indeed free in Christ:  not free to live according to the flesh and our old nature, but power to live in the new nature or spirit.  The old nature knows no law, the new nature needs no law!  In other words:  Freedom to do what we ought, not what we want! We've never had the right to do what is right in our own eyes or to do what is scripturally wrong.  In sum,  "So we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step [pace] with the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Being Heavenly Minded

 "...seek those things which are above..." (Col. 3:1).

First of all, there is no such animal--this is pure fiction and reveals more about the person accusing the so-called spiritual believer out of jealousy or rivalry--what is his motive for even saying this?  Secondly, by earthly I mean doing the world some good, like running for mayor or protesting for your rights in some way, not earning a living--bearing his burden.   We are to become as less involved in world affairs as possible and the married person simply is more involved in civilian problems.

D. L. Moody said that you can be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good!  Let me qualify this assertion:  Religiosity and going through the motions of faith are not being heavenly minded (i.e., saying the Rosary or the Lord's prayer repeatedly).  God commands us to pray without ceasing--that means to always be in an attitude of prayer and be in tune or fellowship with Him, listening as well as talking.  An example in the Bible of someone who was heavenly minded and accused of being no earthly good was Mary by her sister Martha.  Jesus said that she had chosen the better part and it shall not be taken away from her.  She was willing to pay the price to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to the Master teacher even if it cost something.

We don't want to relegate spiritual interests behind the temporal or mundane--but keep priorities and make time (you may not find the time) for Jesus in your hectic schedule (if Satan cannot make you bad, he'll make you busy).  When we are heavenly minded we are also spiritually productive, for example, we can stand in the gap for others and notice when they are in need.  Walking in the flesh is really being earthly minded, and whenever we are in the Spirit, we are heavenly minded and able to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

All parts of the body need each other and no member can say the other is unnecessary or should be like them to be acceptable.  Christ is the standard and the head or leader of the body.  There is a place for practical as well as so-called spiritual believers.  We are not to contend or quarrel with our Maker but realize our full potential in Christ as His servants.  We are rewarded according to our works and the faithfulness of our service regardless of the gift.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We 100 Percent Spiritual?

Everyone has heard of the expression "so spiritually minded and no earthly good." Some Christians talk of their favorite sports team with the enthusiasm that should also belong to the Lord. It is a shame if we cannot praise God with equal zest. Now there is nothing wrong with sports that teaches so many valuable life skills and lessons, but it is not to be an idol or a religion as it were. They say the second biggest religion in the State of Hockey (Minnesota) is hockey. This is not really a compliment.

I believe we will play sports in heaven, though with fair play in all aspects I would add. (No checking or free-for-alls in hockey, but our resurrection bodies won't feel pain. Baseball is a gentleman's sport and I believe we can play it in heaven and we won't be depressed if our team loses--we will praise the Lord anyway!) If we can show great enthusiasm for sports we should also be able to do it for the Lord.

All of our time in heaven won't be occupied with worshiping God per se, though we will praise God continually in what we do, work, leisure or play. There are special angels that spend all their time worshiping God, but we will have duties to do and responsibilities to attend. So don't let anyone tell you not to talk of mundane subjects because they are not "spiritual." "Whatsoever you do, do to the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31). Brother Lawrence wrote a book Practicing the Presence of God in which he wrote about work being worship and finding God's fellowship in everything you do. Martin Luther taught that work is worship when done to the glory of God.   Soli Deo Gloria!