One of the things I would like to talk about today is what Chris was speaking about at the morning study. And it is such an important topic that the question we have to ask ourselves is, “What kind of gospel am I following—based on His grace, or based on my works?”
The Bible has a lot to say about that, and I was thinking about it this past week, and I was examining my own self. What kind of gospel am I following? Where do I stand? And you know, we ought to do that. God tells us in Titus 3 that we are to constantly go over these things. Let us turn there for a second. In Titus 3:8, God tells us:
This is a faithful saying, and these things…
What things is He talking about? The Bible:
…and these things I will that thou affirm constantly…
We may know these things; we may know them. God does not say things in His Bible one time. He says them over and over and over again. Although we know these things, we have to go over them and examine ourselves as God has commanded us to, because these things are very important. We either have a true Gospel, or we have a false gospel. We know that only the true Gospel is going to bring salvation. The false gospel will never, never bring salvation, only the true Gospel. So we have to confirm these things and constantly go over them. Do I really believe this? What gospel am I following?
So, we have to always go over these things as we see the day approaching; we have to examine ourselves. The doctrine that we follow has eternal consequences to it. Believe and make sure it is based on God’s Word, the Bible, and not our own thinking, our feeling, or what someone is telling us. Is it really what the Bible is teaching? Is it coming from God’s Word, the Bible?
In Romans chapter 5 (let us turn over to Romans chapter 5), we are going to read from verse 14 up to verse 17. In Romans 5:14-17, God says:
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
The recurring theme in these verses, and God is stressing the point, one of the things He is saying is “free gift.” Salvation is a free gift. It is given to that person whom God has elected from the foundation of the world. It is a free gift. And from the moment you enter works into this salvation, it is no more a free gift. You have turned the grace of God, the gift of God, into a works gospel.
This is a very important topic that Chris was speaking about today. It has been my experience as I have spoken to several people over the years that they will say, like most of them understand, “Oh, I am saved by grace, but I have to accept something.” People in the church will tell you that they are saved by grace, and they will quote the verse and so forth, but they will muddy the water. They will say, “But it is up to me to do something.”
However, to do something, to work for it, the Bible does not teach that. From the moment you enter any kind of works, it could be 99.9% grace, and you have a tiny bit of works in it, you have turned it into a works gospel. However, we know that God is the one who ought to get all the glory for saving anyone. For anyone to become saved, it must be 100% the grace of God. You see, that is a very, very important thing. That is the very thing. You may know these verses, maybe you are well familiar with them, but what gospel are you following? Is it grace and grace alone?
In Galatians, God wrote about and spent a whole chapter speaking about works over against grace. You see how important it is? It is very, very important that in several chapters in the Bible, several places in the Bible, God is going over and over and over it again. Are you saved by grace against works?
Now, we know that the work that saved us is the work of Christ. Also, Ephesians 2:8 is one of the most popular verses in the Bible, and to me the second most popular verse in the Bible besides John 3:16. Everybody is familiar with John 3:16. It says:
For God so loved the world…
Everybody knows that. That is known by most kids. But I think the second most popular verse is this particular verse in Ephesians 2:8-9. God lays it down for us in Ephesians in black and white. How can people misread this verse? But maybe many do. You see, the works gospels are based on pride. Man wants credit for something he does. He wants credit. “God has done it all, but I have to reach out and accept.” No, the Bible does not teach that. Here, Ephesians 2:8-9 is the second most popular verse in the Bible. Let us begin with verse 8:
For by grace are ye saved…
“For by grace are ye saved”—you tie this into Romans 5, it is a “free gift.” God is driving it home to us:
For by grace are ye saved through faith…
This is the faith of Christ, “through faith”:
…and that not of yourselves…
You cannot save yourself. Many people fail to understand that. There is no work you can do. You could hand out a million tracks. You could go on mission trip after mission trip. You could do whatever you can think of, but it will never save anyone. God lays it out here:
…it is the gift of God: Not of works…
How could He get any plainer than that:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
That word “boast” is the word “glory,” “Lest any man should [glory].” And if I say I will save myself, what will I do? Pride will pop up and I will pat myself on the back. I will glory in it of my own. However, the Bible does not teach that. Mankind will just glory and revel in what he did. “Look what I did! Look how holy I am! All these things I have done.” We know that work is a result of what God has already done in our hearts. The true believer is going to do good works in sharing the Gospel. Then he can obey the mandate in Matthew 28:19:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations…
It is work. But we know that this good work does not save me. The work of Christ has saved me. So you can see we are coming down to that time where we have only a few days to go. What gospel am I following? Is it based on the work of Christ? Is it by grace and grace alone? Or did I have something to do with it? Or is it because I did this or that and that is why God saved me? As I go on in this study, God calls our work “wicked works.” Our works are dead works. They will never save us, never.
There is something I often wonder. People who are wealthy may not think it all out. They may not realize what they are doing. But maybe they have given millions to this charity or organization, or maybe they helped to eradicate this disease, and maybe deep within their hearts they are thinking (because every man in the world knows there is a God), maybe the rich man is thinking at the end of the day or on Judgment Day, “Whoever God is, God might look upon my good works, what I have done, how I have given money to feed the poor, given money for this cause, or that cause.” Or, perhaps he is a great philanthropist who gave away his millions, and some way at the end of the day he thinks, “God, if there is a God, might want to balance the scale of justice. He might say, ‘You did all of these good works when you were living on earth,’ and He will let me into Heaven.” Now perhaps he did not think it all out, but maybe deep within his heart he might be thinking, “Maybe I should give all my wealth to feed the poor,” and all these things with money, “And somehow God within His mercy, whoever He is, might look upon me with favor, with grace, and then let me into Heaven.”
However, we know that this will never work. Do you remember the scripture verse in 1 Corinthians 13:3:
…though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
You see, nothing, no matter how moral a life I lived, or all these things at the end of the day. I think it is an affront to God. Good works never save any one of us. God clearly tells us here that we are not saved by our works; by that He will not save us.
You see, man in his rebellion, in his pride, has convinced himself, “I have been a pastor for ten years, so that means I am saved,” or this or that. No. Every time, we are to look at the gospel we are following. And today it is a very important thing. No matter what it is, it will not save me. Let us go to Titus 3 again, and let us start reading in verse 1. Titus 3:1-7:
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
God has done it all. Salvation is the work of God. He says here “not by works.” It is the same thing we read in Ephesians 2; “Not by works of righteousness.” Matthew 19:16 says:
And, behold, one came and said unto him…
Now of all the good things somebody might do, we read here:
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
All the good things somebody might do will not bring us any closer to God. You might tie it up with the adulation of man on your back. Mankind might pat you on the back and say, “Oh, wow!” When somebody gives tens of millions of dollars for charities, the men will say, “Oh, wow!” Yet he is not a child of God. What good would it profit him? Nothing. At the end of the day when Christ returns, on May 21, 2011, he is going to be destroyed along with all the unsaved of the world. You see, salvation is by grace and grace alone.
Let us look at Matthew 19. Let us start at verse 16 and pick up the context. Matthew 19:16-17:
And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
This man is thinking no differently than anyone today. He is thinking, “What shall I do? What work shall I do? What good thing can I do that might save me?” Is not this the question of many who want to do something for salvation? “What good thing can I do that God will have pity on me and show me mercy?” Many people stumble here:
…what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
The answer is that he cannot do anything, he cannot do anything. It goes on:
And he said unto him…
Here Christ is speaking to him:
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but…
Here is Christ saying it:
…but if thou wilt enter into life…
That is, eternal life:
…keep the commandments.
This is Christ’s answer to him: “But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Now which one of us could keep the commandments of God absolutely perfectly? You must keep the law of God perfectly. Which human being can do that? Not one of us. We have all broken the law of God. We have a death sentence from His damnation hanging over our heads because we sinned a little white lie, we had an evil thought. We have broken the law of God.
Some people might think, “Because I have not killed a person, or I did not do this dastardly act—that is the riff raff over there—then you are not speaking to me, but to that bad guy over there.” No, this applies to all of us. God tells us in Romans 6:23:
For the wages of sin is death…
And here He says, “Keep the commandments.” Matthew 19:18-21 says:
He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder…
Have you ever hated someone? Some people think murder is a physical killing, but when you look at it closer, it is hating someone. Have you ever disliked someone? Have you ever hated someone? Well, you are guilty of murder, are you not? It says:
…Thou shalt not commit adultery…
Although you may not commit physical adultery, we are all guilty of it. Remember, God says that if you look at a woman lustfully, a man or a woman, if you look at someone lustfully, what have you done? You have already committed adultery just looking at a person. Remember Adam and Eve in the garden? She looked. You see, she looked at him and he entered into her and she, well, you know what happened.
We do not have to physically do these things to be guilty of them. All you have to do is think about it. God says:
…Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect…
Perfect. None of us is perfect until God saves us and we become perfect in our spirit, the part of us that He saved. He continues:
…go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
In other words, we lose our life in this world. These things, you see, are no longer important. We use what God has given us to get the Gospel out. Our works will not save us.
What must I do to be saved? That question is asked many times. What must I do? We can do nothing. We have to be perfect as God is perfect. And which one of us fits that billing? Not one of us. We cannot keep the law of God perfectly. Christ did it on our behalf. He is the one we have to look to. As He tells us in Philippians 2:13, God is the one who works in us:
…to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Even after we have become saved and start to do good works, it is because God has done a work of grace within us. Then we are going to have the desire to do good works.
Good works do follow the child of God, but that is not a cause of salvation. And these are very important. Look at Matthew 7; God is giving us a glimpse into May 21, 2011, and the Day of Judgment. What are these people doing, these who are left behind, these who are still in the churches? God tells us they are pleading their works. They are pleading their good works. That is what they are doing when they are left behind, saying, “Lord, Lord.”
Let us look at Matthew 7:21. Here the Day of Judgment has come, and there are those who are left behind. The true believers are taken out of this world, and of those who are still in the churches, we read in Matthew 7:21-23:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, [Master, Master] shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day…
Many, a great multitude, are left behind. Let us read verse 22 again:
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?…
This person has declared the Word of God; and this verse, I believe, is particularly speaking to those who claim to be born again, but yet they are left behind. They claim that they were prophesying in God. They could be a pastor or an elder or a regular person in the church. This person could have handed out many tracts, because when you are handing out tracts you are declaring the Word of God to someone. We read:
…and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you…
They are claiming their works. “I have been a pastor for fifty years. Why am I left behind? Why am I still here?” God knows all things. They claim they had a relationship with Christ, but God’s Spirit never witnessed with their spirit to give them assurance that they were a child of God. They wrapped their dirty rags around themselves, they told themselves they were saved, but it is the other way around. God’s Word has to give us the assurance that we are indeed a child of God. In their rebellion, they told themselves that they were born again, but yet they were left behind, waiting to be destroyed, on May 21, 2011. And here God says, in verse 23:
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you…
They were never saved. Of course, God knows everybody. He knows all things. The souls of everyone are in the hand of God. He knows all things, but they never had a saving relationship with Christ. That is why they were left behind. And here God says in verse 23:
…depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
They were in another gospel; they were in a works gospel. They were never born again. They were never saved. That is why they are left behind.
How sad that is. That day is going to be a day of weeping and mourning for those left behind, because they trusted in a gospel, in a works gospel, that never brought them salvation. Someone cannot look at you and tell you that you are saved. No one can do that. We are getting down to the time now where it is of uttermost importance to look at the Gospel and follow it. Am I trusting in my works, or am I trusting in God’s Word, the Bible? These things are very important, very important you see.
Let us look at Abraham. Abraham did a wonderful thing, did he not, when he offered up Isaac his son? Let us look at it for those who may not know it. In Genesis 22, he did a wonderful work, did he not? He surely did when he offered up Isaac. Let us look at Genesis 22:9-10:
And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
He was obeying what God told him to do. He never questioned God at all, he never did it. He was carrying out a command that God told him to do. Verses 11-12 say:
And the angel of the LORD…
Which I believe is God Himself:
…called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
It is a work he did. It was a work he was doing. And many people see that and say, “Ah, that is what saved Abraham.” No, Abraham was not saved by this act that he was doing. We are not saved by our works. God picks this up in Romans 4 and answers this question. Did this good work that Abraham did bring salvation to him? No it did not. In Romans 4:1, God picks this account up, and God is going to explain to us that the work done by Abraham did not save him. Although he obeyed God, that was not what saved him. In Romans 4:1-3, we read:
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works…
Something he did, by the work of offering up Isaac:
…he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
The work Abraham did, he was about to kill his son, but it did not save him. God told us the work he did here. It did not save him. He goes on:
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
What was counted unto Abraham for righteousness? It was the work of Christ. It was the work of Christ that was counted unto Abraham for righteousness, because we do not have any righteousness of ourselves. Isaiah 64:6 says:
…all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…
It was the righteousness of Christ. Christ was counted unto Abraham. Christ saved him. It goes on in Romans 4:4:
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
If you are in a works gospel, you are still indebted to Christ and headed for eternal destruction. Verse 5 says:
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith…
Which really is the faith of Christ, which was imputed to us:
…is counted for righteousness.
It was the faith of Christ which was imputed to us when we became saved, and then the result of that is that we are going to do good works. So what Abraham did did not save him. It was the faith of Christ that was imputed unto him. All righteousness, not something that we did, which will never save anyone.
Turn over to Romans 9. In Romans 9, God gives us some more information. In Romans 9:31, God is going to tell us a little bit about Israel. The nation of Israel was in a works gospel. They thought that their circumcision and all these burnt sacrifices would save them. When we go on to Hebrews, God talks about their blood of bulls and cows that would never take away their sin. It never did. The nation of Israel was in a works gospel. Romans 9:31-33 says:
But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.…
Israel was in a works gospel. They perished in the wilderness because of unbelief. They did not have the faith of Christ. They were in a works gospel. It continues:
…For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
They stumbled at Christ. There are many today who are doing the same thing. They are stumbling in the Gospel. When they come unto grace over against works, they are stumbling. Romans 9:33:
As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Going on into chapter 10, Romans 10:1-2:
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
Many are like this. They have a zeal for Christ but not according to God’s Word, the Bible. Verse 3 says:
For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
Here God is speaking about Israel, but many are like this today. They are ignorant of God’s righteousness. They are going about doing their own thing. Their own works will never bring them salvation, and many, many people are like that in our day. We cannot look down our long noses at Israel.
Many are this way in our day. They are in a works gospel, and God says they are ignorant of His righteousness, and they are going about to establish their own works. They are doing their own thing. This is a very important issue that the gospel we are following ought to be based on the Word of God.
We are very familiar with Galatians 2:16. Let us read that again. Galatians 2:16 tells us:
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
God has a lot more to say about this Gospel against works. Let us look at another verse in Galatians. In the whole book of Galatians, God has this recurring theme—works, grace, works, grace, works, grace—and many will not look at these verses. Let us look at 2 Timothy 1:8-9:
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
This is the same recurrent theme in verse 9. God is the one who saves us and calls us by a holy calling, not according to our works. In Ephesians, it says we are saved to the praise and glory of God. “Not according to our works” He has saved us. Do you see here how God is driving home the point again and again? God also tells us, if we go over to Hebrews 6, God is going to tell us about our works. Hebrews 6:1 says:
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works…
Our works are dead; they will never bring salvation. It is the work of Christ that brings salvation. Look at another verse. In Colossians 1:21, it is speaking about us before we are saved. Here He is going to call it “wicked works.” Colossians 1:21-22 says:
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
See how God calls our works there in verse 21 “wicked works”? He calls it at one point “dead works,” and here He calls our works before we are saved our “wicked works.” He will never, never bring salvation to any one of us like this.
Turn over to Hebrews 9:14. God uses another word here to describe it. Our works are filthy rags, but here He says in Hebrews 9:14:
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
See how God looks on our works as “dead works” that will never save anybody? The work we need is the work of Christ. That is what brings salvation to us. In another verse, in 1 John 3:12, we read:
Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil…
See how God calls Cain’s works evil? We know that Cain was not saved at all—evil works. His brother’s work was Christ’s work and this work was righteous. But see, our works before we are saved are evil, wicked works. They are “dead works,” the Bible calls them, that will never save anybody. They will never bring us one inch closer to God.
So you see how He laid out the verses here about wicked works that will never save us? That is why it is not a simple issue, works over against grace. If you are in a works gospel, you are in a terrible predicament. That means that Christ is not your Savior, and you are still under the wrath of God, and you are still headed for the day of destruction on May 21, 2011. So you see how God is looking at our works. Many people are familiar with our works as filthy rags, but here God is calling our works dead, evil, and these works will never bring salvation to any person. We know that Christ’s work is the work that brings salvation to us. Look at Psalm 31. God gives us more information here in Psalm 31:19:
Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them…
He is speaking about His elect:
…that fear thee; which thou hast wrought…
That word “wrought” is the word “worked.” Christ has worked for us when? When has He completed the work of saving us? “From the foundation of the world.” It goes on in verse 19:
…which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
Before the foundation of the world, the work of saving us was already completed in Christ, “before the sons of men!” God did this, way in eternity past, the work of saving His people. So how can anyone say, “I have to do something to save myself,” when the work was already done in Christ from the foundation of the world? That work was already completed.
Let us look at the Gospel of John 17:4. The same idea is in this and the previous verse I read. Christ is speaking, and He says:
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
We know that the work was already done. We are leaning now that Christ was only demonstrating because that work had already been done. We know that the work was finished before the foundation of the world. Go over to Isaiah 63:3, where we read:
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
This is not the verse I wanted, but you see what I am trying to get at? Our works will never bring salvation to anyone. So Christ is the one who gets all the glory of saving us. He is the one who ought to get all the praise, because the work that Christ has done, the true believers will enter into that work. We enter into that work that Christ has done.
Therefore, if any one of us is in a gospel based on our works from another gospel, it will never bring salvation to anybody. So examine the gospel you follow. Time is running out, and time is of the essence. Wonderfully, in our day, God is still saving a great multitude for Himself.
Look at another familiar passage, Ezekiel 36. God tells us there and throughout the whole Bible that He saves us. In Ezekiel 36, another familiar passage in the Bible, there we read for instance in verse 25, Ezekiel 36:25:
Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
This is what God does when He personally saves a person. He gives a new heart and spirit within us. He takes away the stony heart from our flesh and gives us a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 says:
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
God says in Ezekiel 36:27-28:
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
God goes on, and He does all the work. He does all the work of saving us. We cannot give ourselves a new heart. All we can do is to “come boldly unto the throne of grace.” We come humbly before Him, and we beg. The work that we are doing will never save any one of us.
So you see how important this issue is of works and grace? God is the one. Nobody can create a new heart in a person. When that person becomes saved, he is a new creation. Who could do that but God Himself? You see how God tells us this throughout the whole Bible? But I am not going to look at all of them. I hope you get what I am trying to get at, that salvation is of the Lord. Salvation belongs to God; He is the Savior. He is the one we have to go to and plead to, as Chris was saying this morning, like the blind Bartimaeus from now until May 21 if we have to. I do not know whether God is going to save that person, but wonderfully today I am still alive.
You hear that God is still saving a great multitude. You know, until May, all we can do is beg for mercy, fully recognizing that we do not deserve to have our sins forgiven. Those who have truly become saved, God has opened their spiritual eyes to the truth. Now we begin to understand that we are nothing. But see, unsaved man walks around in his pride. He thinks he is something when he is not, and he struts around not recognizing that maybe all his life he has been under the wrath of God, until May 21, 2011. He is going to realize that the life he has lived in the pursuit of happiness or whatever he has been going after is absolutely nothing.
Let us pray.