"Sanctification of heart and life is alone acceptable with God. Said the angel, as he pointed to the ministers who are not right: “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded.” “Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.” God calls for integrity of soul; for truth in the inward parts, transforming the entire man by the renewing of the mind through the influences of the divine Spirit. Not all the ministers are devoted to the work; not all have put their hearts into it. They move as listlessly as though a temporal millennium were allowed them in which to work for souls. They shun burdens and responsibilities, care and privations. Self-denial, suffering, and weariness are not pleasant nor convenient. It is the study of some to save themselves from wearing labor. They study their own convenience and how to please themselves, their wives, and their children; and the work upon which they have entered is nearly lost sight of. 2T 335.1"
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
EGW directly quotes the phrase 'Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded,' which is found in James 4:8. This is a clear and direct allusion.
"Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord."
EGW directly quotes the phrase 'Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord,' which is found in Isaiah 52:11. This is a clear and direct allusion.
"Compare these two enterprises. One is certain, eternal, enduring as the life of God; the other is a thing of this life, changeable, perishable, and if men succeed in their ambitious pursuits, that which they gain frequently stings like an adder, and drowns them in perdition. Oh, why should there be so great a contrast in the efforts of those who are engaged—the one class in a worldly enterprise, the other in a heavenly? the one laboring for a treasure here that is perishable, and in the effort suffering much pain for that which is frequently a source of great evil, the other putting forth efforts for the salvation of precious souls, which will be approved of Heaven and rewarded with heavenly riches. There are no risks to run here, no losses to be sustained, the profits are sure and immense. 2T 335.3"
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:"
The EGW passage strongly echoes the sentiment of Matthew 6:19-20, contrasting earthly and heavenly treasures. The emphasis on the perishable nature of earthly gains versus the enduring value of heavenly rewards is a clear parallel.
"And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
The EGW passage contrasts the fleeting nature of worldly pursuits with the eternal nature of serving God, mirroring the message of 1 John 2:17. The idea of the world passing away while those who do God's will abide forever is a central theme in both passages.