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

The certainty and completeness of the transformation is guaranteed by the
Trinitarian references within the sentence. Failure to manifest godly conduct
would amount to a denial of the salvific intervention of God the Father, Jesus
Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Verse 7 presents another instance of paranomasia in the participle
dikaiwqevnte". Its rhetorical functions include highlighting again the contrast
that is so endemic to this sentence (vv. 3-7). Other functions relate to inter-
sectional cohesion since cognates of this word occur in 1:8 (divkaion), 2:12
(dikaivw") and 3:5 (dikaiosuvnh). Righteousness is a quality inherent to
believers. Elder-overseers must manifest it (1:8) as a requirement to serve in
the church. Believers must live righteously, as they are instructed by grace
(2:12). Righteousness manifests after salvation and cannot be attained by
human efforts (3:5). Thus, the only time this positive quality is presented
negatively is when it is viewed as attainable by works of righteousness. In
every other instance, the word is presented as a positive Christian trait. In 3:7,
the answer or explanation is given as to how a believer comes to manifest this
quality: they are made righteous by divine grace. Likewise, in 2:11, it is grace
that instructs believers to live “godly” (dikaivw") in this present age. The
paranomasia serves to highlight the endemic nature of righteousness in the
life of believers. Rhetorically, this has the effect of making genuine sainthood
inseparable from the quality of righteousness. Thus, where this quality is
absent it can reasonably be inferred that no salvation has occurred. The
Cretans were not saved by righteous works they have done (oujk ejx e[rgwn tw`n
ejn dikaiosuvnh/), instead they have been made righteous (dikaiwqevnte"). In
other words, they are passive in the act of acquiring the status of
righteousness. The passive participle constitutes an emphatic denial of human
boasting, contrasting directly with the sentiment expressed in the first part of
v. 5. The use of inclusive language employed both in verbal and pronoun
forms, functions among other things, to restrain any credit from accruing to
human beings. Paul is implicitly affirming that even his Jewish heritage was of
no value in his salvation or in acquiring this righteousness. Titus also has
nothing to boast in apart from divine grace. By implication therefore, the
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