The exception clause

I have had this in the queue for quite some time, seemingly unable to finish it. However, I am going to post it unfinished!

Matthew 5:31-32
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication , causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Matthew 19:8-9
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

“The exception clause” is a phrase used to name or describe Jesus’s statements in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 about marriage, divorce (putting away), and adultery – “saving for the cause of fornication” / “except it be for fornication.”

Got Questions Ministries explains it this way:

“The meaning of Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 is clear. If a person gets a divorce and then remarries, it is considered adultery unless the exception clause is in effect.”

Despite their absolute assurance, it not that “clear” to all interpreters. The passage engenders much discussion and debate. For example, does “the exception clause” provide an exception for allowing remarriage after a divorce, or does it provide an exception for not calling the putting away adultery?[i] David Janzen’s assessment is more accurate than that of Got Questions.

“It is likely that not a truer word has been written in the field of biblical studies than Ben Witherington’s observation that nearly everything about the two Matthean divorce exception clauses is disputed.”[ii]

There are related passages in Mark 10:10-12 and Luke 16:18 to consider, but they do not specifically address the exception clause.[iii]

Random notes and comments on the exception clause

Verses and words

Jesus is not giving a new teaching about divorce; rather he is restating God’s original design and intent. See Matthew 19:4-6.

Words for further research. Matthew 5:32 (fornication, πορνειας; adultery, μοιχευθηναι, μοιχαται); Matthew 19:9 (fornication, πορνεια; adultery, μοιχευθηναι, μοιχαται); Mark 10:11-12 (adultery, μοιχαται); Luke 16:18 (adultery, μοιχευει). Adultery (moichao), to have unlawful intercourse with another’s spouse. Fornication (porneia), illicit sexual intercourse; adultery, bestiality, fornication, homosexuality, etc.

Matthew 5:32; 19:9. A man would not cause his wife to be an adulteress through divorce, if she were already an adulteress through fornication.

Both Matthew and Mark refer to Herodias as “Philip’s wife,” even though she had divorced Philip and married Herod (Matthew 14:3-4; Mark 6:17-18).

Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well “thou hast had five husbands” and “he whom thou now hast is not thy husband” (John 4:16-18). Various inferences have been drawn from this, despite the text not indicating whether she had five husbands lawfully (one after another had died, etc.), whether she had been divorced from every one of them, or some combination of both possibilities.

Baptists in England

Second London Baptist Confession

Baptists of London adapted the Westminster Confession to use in their own Second London Confession of 1689. The changes they made can provide some insights into their thinking. When these brethren built their statement on marriage, they removed the paragraph in the Westminster permitting divorce and remarriage. Westminster’s Article 24, paragraph 5 states:

Adultery or fornication committed after a contract, being detected before marriage, gives just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that contract. In case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce, and after the divorce to marry another, as if the offending party were dead.

The Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 24 is titled, “Of Marriage and Divorce.” It has four paragraphs on marriage and two on divorce. The Second London Baptist Confession Chapter 25 is titled “Of Marriage.” It omits paragraphs four & five on divorce.

John Gill, on Matthew 5:32

…she must be guilty of adultery; since she is his proper wife, the bond of marriage not being dissolved by such a divorce: and

whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery; because the divorced woman he marries, and takes to his bed; is legally the wife of another man…

Early years of church history

William Heth and Gordon Wenham extensively researched the marriage theology of early Christian writers. They summarize their research of the views of divorce and remarriage this way:

“In the first five centuries (among Christians) all Greek writers and all Latin writers except one agree that remarriage following divorce for any reason is adulterous. The marriage bond was seen to unite both parties until the death of one of them.”[iv]

Before and after salvation

Some who take a strict view on divorce and remarriage (and perhaps some who don’t) believe that the New Testament teaching on the subject of divorce and remarriage is null regarding anything that happened during a marriage before one became a Christian. In his book on Divorce and Remarriage, Andrew Cornes addresses this:

Most important of all, it assumes that it is the sin (of divorce) which prevents remarriage. If this sin can be removed, by forgiveness, then no barrier to remarriage remains. This view is so obviously flawed that it is amazing how tenacious it is. If sin is really the barrier, what does the time of conversion to Christ have to do with it? Surely sin committed after conversion can be fully forgiven and removed?...Jesus does not base his prohibition of remarriage on the sin of divorce. He bases it on the fact that remarriage would be legalized adultery. In other words, he bases it on the fact that the marriage bond continues to exist despite the divorce. It is not the (sin of) divorce which makes remarriage impossible for the Christian; it is the (original) marriage. Only death dissolves the marriage bond, and therefore only death sets a person free to remarry”[v]

A marriage pandemic

One claim is that Jesus’s statement allows for remarriage when the reason for the divorce is adultery. Even if this is a correct interpretation, surely we can agree that what was a small moth hole of “exception” has become a gaping gash in the marriage fabric of modern American Christianity! First one exception, then another, then many more. “No-fault divorce” is a plague of pandemic proportions.

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[i] Perhaps the main views fall into three broad groups. (1) Neither divorce nor remarriage is allowed. πορνεια refers to the annulment of incestuous marriages of pagan converts, or refers to the sexual violation in the Jewish betrothal period. (2) Divorce is allowed in cases of πορνεια, but remarriage is forbidden. (3) Divorce and remarriage are allowed, but only in cases of πορνεια.
[ii] “The Meaning of Porneia in Matthew 5.32 and 19.9: an Approach From the Study of Ancient Near Eastern Culture,” David Janzen, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Volume 23, Issue 80, March 1, 2001, pp. 66-80 (Citing Ben Witherington in “Matthew 5:32 and 19:9—Exception or Exceptional Situation?” New Testament Studies, No. 31, 1985, p. 571). There is disagreement on what constitutes the exception; disagreement on what is the reason for the exception; disagreement on the meaning of the word porneia; and on and on. (Consider John 7:17 may have some impact on this problem.)
[iii] Mark 10:10-12, putting away or divorcing a spouse and marrying another is adultery. Luke 16:18, putting away (or divorcing) a wife, or marrying one who has been put away is committing adultery.
[iv] Jesus and Divorce, William Heth, Gordon Wenham, Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984, p. 22.
[v] Divorce and Remarriage: Biblical Principles and Pastoral Practice, Andrew Cornes, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993 pp. 246-247).

Hiding warts?

I posted here and elsewhere about some of the problems of the Black Lives Matter organization. It is an organization rather than a statement. Not all black lives matter to them, apparently. An interesting development is that they have recently removed the What We Believe page. When I searched for it last night, I got the following message. 

404 Not Found. We can not find the page you are looking for. 

Other browsers may have:

Page Not Found. Sorry, but the page you were trying to view does not exist. 

There is an “About” section on the site. It relates vague things about what the group believes, without going into detail. “What We Believe” was much more detailed, revealing, for example, that Black Lives Matter is a queer‐affirming transgender network that wants to “disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.” Maybe they have deemed that clarity with this kind of information generally harmful to their cause. For now, what they used to freely admit is now scrubbed or hidden. Nevertheless, it can still be found on a cached version of the website HERE.

Family Values

All these verses speak of family values in some way or another.

• Genesis 14:13-14 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
• Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
• Joshua 24:15 ...as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
• Job 1:13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
• Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.
• Psalm 68:6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
• Psalm 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
• Psalm 127:1,3-5 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it...Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
• Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
• Proverbs 4:3-4 For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
• Proverbs 11:29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
• Proverbs 12:7 The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
• Proverbs 17:6 Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.
• Proverbs 23:22 Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
• Proverbs 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
• Mark 7:10-13 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
• Luke 1:58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
• John 2:1-2 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
• John 11:3-5 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
• John 19:26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
• Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)
• 1 Timothy 5:4,8,16 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God...But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel...If any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them...
• 1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

A scathing letter of disownment

In a story from a pro-gay youth organization, we read about a father who disowns his homophobic daughter in (publicized) letter. From his side of the story the daughter is evil. She disowned her son and kicked him out of the house because she found out he claimed to be gay, was living a homosexual lifestyle, or something along those lines (details not available). The Yahoo Shine author says that "Many parents get it and are expressing their unconditional love in various ways."

I wonder whether all the ravers for unconditional love missed the irony that the father who wrote that a parent disowning a child “goes 'against nature'” turned around and went against nature and disowned his own child? Maybe two wrongs do make a right!? (Or maybe good sense doesn't matter when you are focusing on promoting a particular agenda.)

Happy Father's Day

Today is Father's Day, and I wish a Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there reading. As I was driving alone to the store this morning I thought about a few things in which our Heavenly Father is the great example to all of us who are fathers. Here are the thoughts that came to me; you can flesh them out and look up related scriptures on the subject.


The Heavenly Father loves us.
The Heavenly Father listens to us.
The Heavenly Father disciplines us.
The Heavenly Father forgives us.
The Heavenly Father provides for us.
The Heavenly Father teaches us.
The Heavenly Father stays with us. (I have heard 1 out of every 3 children in the U.S. live in a home where their fathers are not there. How sad if this is so. How glad we are that our Heavenly Father will never leave us or forsake us.)


O to be fathers more like the Heavenly Father!!

Keeping up with the Joneses

"Quit trying to keep up with the Joneses -- most likely they're headed to divorce or bankruptcy!" [perhaps not an exact quote; made by someone on the radio named Dave Ramsey]

I hope your New Year's Resolution isn't to keep up with the Joneses!

Words on relationships...

...what do you think?

"During the impressionable adolescent years, kids are organized into classes based on the strength of their intellects. That means the kids in honors classes are practically segregated from the hoi polloi. This may ensure that students get the most challenging education for their skill levels, but it also sends a strong social signal as teens primarily associate with their intellectual equals at the time they often begin dating."

"The relationships that count, the relationships that last, are the ones based on compassion, compromise, and communication." -- both quotes from "Giving Up Smart" by Rachel Pomerance on Belief.net

* "Hoi polloi -- the common people; the masses (often preceded by the)"

Threat to marriage

"The greatest threat to marriage in America today is not the push for homosexual marriage, but rather the current ease with which a married couple can get a divorce." -- Steve Weaver on his blog -- The authority of the king: Jesus and divorce 23 April 2007

I think this statement by Steve Weaver is on target. You can read the entire post by clicking on the link above (this is not an endorsement of his entire position on the divorce/remarriage question).

Being single

There is nothing wrong with being single.

It is good
I Cor. 7:1,8,26 -- Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman... I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I... I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

It is a gift
I Cor. 7:7 -- For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

It is useful
I Cor. 7:32,33 -- But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.