A Text centred rhetorical analysis of Paul's Letter to Titus

toi`" de; e[rgoi" ajrnou`ntai (1:16)
pro;" pa`n e[rgon ajgaqo;n ajdovkimoi (1:16)
kalw`n e[rgwn (2:7)
zhlwth;n kalw`n e[rgwn (2:14)
e[rgon ajgaqovn (3:1)
oujk ejx e[rgwn tw`n ejn dikaiosuvnh (3:5)
The above list confirms the vital role of works in this letter. The repetition of
the word reintroduces it in this section as a reminder of what works cannot do,
namely render anyone righteous. Furthermore, while works cannot justify,
believers will manifest good works and are shown to be genuine believers by
their works. Works also serve as evidence that some are not part of God’s
family and are “worthless for any good work”. Believers ought to be zealous
for good works. Thus, the nature of an individual’s works will reveal the
existence or non- existence of the knowledge of God. In this manner, the
author is rhetorically strategic in his reintroduction of this key word.
Verse 5 also contains the much discussed phrase, dia; loutrou`
paliggenesiva" kai; ajnakainwvsew", which emphasises the newness of those
who have encountered divine grace. Rhetorically, it functions to further the
notion that those who have been renewed in this way are no longer what they
used to be, since they have been regenerated and renewed. Thus, the good
conduct espoused in 3:1-2 ought to be manifested by those who had been
regenerated and renewed. By negative implication therefore, the absence of
such conduct would testify to the fact that such individuals never experienced
renewal and regeneration.
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