Given the Greco-Roman cultural matrix in which he ministered, the Apostle Paul frequently found himself at loggerheads with certain people within the churches he planted. He wrote letters to several of these churches warning them not to give heed to 'false teachers' or 'super apostles', for example. And while Paul addressed a number of practical issues in these letters, he made special mention of those whom he deemed to be messing with the gospel. In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul wrote: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes ..." (Romans 1:16). I've addressed the content and context of the gospel in an essay that can be found elsewhere on this forum; it will suffice for now to state categorically that salvation itself hinges on getting this message right. If the message itself is misrepresented, if it is misunderstood or misconstrued, then there can be no assurance of an eternal future with God.

So the question is: what becomes of the preacher who substitutes the Christian gospel of grace, with Revivalism's so-called "salvation message" of works? In his letter to the church at Galatia Paul wrote:

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6 to 9).

Paul's charge was that certain people in the Galatian church were deserting God (the “him who called you”, consistent with Paul’s usage, denotes God). These people were turning their backs on Christ's grace, by embracing what Paul referred to as a 'different' gospel, or ἕτερον εὐαγγέλιον. Bauer's lexicon defines the adjective ἕτερον in our passage as:

② pert. to being dissimilar in kind or class from all other entities, another, different fr. what precedes, externally or internally (cp. Pla., Symp. 186b ἕτερος καὶ ἀνόμοιος al.; OGI 458, 8 [c. 9 B.C.] ἑτέραν ὄψιν; POxy 939, 18; Wsd 7:5; Jdth 8:20 al.; TestSol 11:3 ἑτέραν πρᾶξιν; Just., D. 6, 1 ἕ. … τι τὸ μετέχον τινὸς ἐκείνου οὗ μετέχει; 55, 1 ἕ. θεὸς παρὰ τὸν ποιητὴν τῶν ὅλων; 119, 3 ἡμεῖς λαὸς ἕ. ἀνεθήλαμεν, καὶ ἐβλαστήσαμεν στάχυες καινοί): ἐν ἑ. μορφῇ in a different form Mk 16:12 (cp. Ath. 26, 3 εἰς ἕ. σχῆμα). εἶδος ἕτερον Lk 9:29 (TestSol 15:3). ἑτέρα … δόξα, ἑτέρα … glory of one kind, … of a different kind 1 Cor 15:40. ἕ. νόμος Ro 7:23. ἑ. γνῶσις B 18:1. ἑ. ὁδός Js 2:25. ἑ. διδαχή Hs 8, 6, 5 (v.l. ξένος). On ἕ. in this sense in Gal 1:6 s. M-M. s.v. Also in the sense strange ἐν χείλεσιν ἑτέρων through the lips of strangers 1 Cor 14:21 (cp. Is 28:11). λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις Ac 2:4 may mean either speak with different (even other than their own) tongues or speak in foreign languages (cp. Is 28:11; Sir prol. ln. 22; 1QH 4, 16). S. γλῶσσα 3.—JKElliott, ZNW 60, ’69, 140f.—Schmidt, Syn. IV 559–69. DELG. M-M. EDNT. TW.

So what becomes of the one who preaches such a message? Paul's twice uttered response is, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω ("... let him be accursed"). In the Old Testament, people and/or items under the 'ban' of God, were the focus of his wrath. They were cursed, and subjected to complete destruction, often by fire. What Paul is clearly indicating in his imprecation is the judicial wrath of God towards the false teacher. From Bauer:

② that which has been cursed, cursed, accursed (LXX as a rule=חֵרֶם: what is ‘devoted to the divinity’ can be either consecrated or accursed. The mng. of the word in the other NT passages moves definitely in the direction of the latter [like Num 21:3; Dt 7:26; Josh 6:17; 7:12; Judg 1:17; Zech 14:11, but also the curse-tablets from Megara, as IDefixWünsch 1, 17]) οὐδεὶς ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ λαλῶν λέγει· ἀνάθεμα Ἰησοῦς no one who speaks by God’s Spirit says ‘Jesus be cursed’ 1 Cor 12:3 (on this subject Laud. Therap. 22 ὅταν ὁ δαίμων ἀλλοιώσας τὸν ἐνεργούμενον, ἐκεῖνος ὅλος λαλεῖ, τὸ στόμα τοῦ πάσχοντος ἴδιον τεχναζόμενος ὄργανον=when the divinity has altered the one it has influenced, then it is altogether the divinity that speaks, for it has skillfully made the victim’s mouth its own instrument; NBrox, BZ n.s. 12, ’68, 103–11). As a formula ἀνάθεμα ἔστω Gal 1:8f. For this ἤτω ἀ. 1 Cor 16:22. Likew. ηὐχόμην ἀνάθεμα εἶναι αὐτὸς ἐγὼ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ I could wish that I myself would be accursed (and therefore separated) from Christ Ro 9:3 (CSchneider, D. Volks-u. Heimatgefühl b. Pls: Christentum u. Wissensch. 8, ’32, 1–14; PBratsiotis, Eine Notiz zu Rö 9:3 u. 10:1: NovT 5, ’62, 299f).

So, to sum up: 1. According to James, teachers by virtue of their influence will be judged more strictly, with the very real potential of experiencing God's judicial condemnation. 2. According to the author of Hebrews, we live once, we die once, then we are judged. And, 3. According to Paul, anyone who substitutes Christ's gospel of grace for a 'salvation message' of works, a la Revivalism, will face the judicial wrath of God; that is, his condemnation.

So what of someone who misrepresents the gospel through ignorance? I suggest several points for reflection. First, the status before God of someone with no knowledge of Christ's gospel due to a complete lack of access to it, is markedly different to that of a man or woman with the capacity to read the Bible at will. Paul touches on the implications of this in Romans 1:18, and especially for our discussion, in chapter 2 verses 1 through 16. Second, anyone who presumes to teach others in the name of Christ courts God's judgment. Consequently, he or she had better be up to the task! Third, and directly in keeping with the title of this thread: I am supremely confident that every Revivalist pastor in this country knows about this site. People like me have corresponded with, had discussions with, and have debated with Revivalist pastors of every stripe for approaching thirty-five years. A claim to ignorance of the gospel on their part just isn't credible.

The recently deceased Revivalist pastor mentioned at the beginning of this thread, the man who prompted it, knew the content of Christ's gospel of grace because I shared it with him. And he rejected it, preferring instead, "I repented and was baptised by full immersion in water, and I received the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues!" It's possible he repented at the last, and was converted to Christ. My sincere hope is this was the case. But if he didn't, then he stands condemned by the very God he claimed to represent.

Each and every one of us will kneel before our Maker, and each and every one of us will face his judgment. Unfortunately, not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. On that day many will say to Jesus, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and perform miracles in your name?’ And Jesus will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of wickedness.’ This, of course, is from the Gospel According to Matthew chapter 7, verses 21 to 23.

So the answer to the question: will Revivalist pastors be spared judgment for neither knowing nor preaching the gospel? is 'no'.

Blessings,

Ian