Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage (MDR) - The Force Of The Exception Clause

Matthew 19:9a reads, “Whosoever shall put away his wife, EXCEPT it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery.”The “except” clause in this verse means the only scriptural cause for divorce is “for fornication” – that’s the force of the exception clause. Let’s illustrate with a few other similar passages …John 3:3 reads, “except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Do you see how “except” in John 3:3 means there is no other way to enter the kingdom, other than by being born again?Read Luke 13:3 (“except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish’). Again notice how the exception clause rules out all other ways (besides repenting) to avoid perishing.Notice how the exception clause in John 8:24 (“except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins” - ASV) proves there is no other way to avoid dying in sin unless a person believes.And John 14:6 (“no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”) rules out all other ways to come to the Father other than by Jesus, correct?Similarly, Matthew 19:9a proves divorce for any reason other than fornication is sin. Violation of God’s restriction in this matter is called “adultery” here. In spite of that, think how many people you know who claim to be Christians but who are in their 2nd or 3rd marriage, without the one scriptural clause being in play. Most churches quit following the Bible on this subject a long time ago.