"Black Hawk, Colorado, August 12, 1873 ***** Chapter 30—Daydreaming Dear Sister E, I have been shown that you need a thorough conversion. You have accepted the truth, but have not received the blessings that the truth brings, because you have not experienced its transforming power. You are in danger of losing both worlds unless you have a more thorough work of grace in your heart and unless your will is brought into conformity to the mind and will of Christ. 3T 329"
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
The EGW passage speaks of needing a 'thorough work of grace' and having one's will 'brought into conformity to the mind and will of Christ,' which aligns with the idea of becoming a 'new creature' in Christ as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Both passages emphasize transformation and a new life in Christ.
"of their brethren; for, because the brethren sympathized with them, they thought they must indeed have been abused, and that the reprover was all wrong and had a bad spirit. The only hope for sinners in Zion is to fully see and confess their wrongs, and put them away. Those who step in to destroy the edge of sharp reproof that God sends, saying that the reprover was partly wrong and the reproved was not just right, please the enemy. Any way that Satan can devise to make the reproofs of none effect will accomplish his design. Some will lay blame upon the one whom God has sent with a message of warning, saying, He is too severe; and in so doing they become responsible for the soul of the sinner whom God desired to save, and to whom, because He loved him, He sent correction, that he might humble his soul before God and put his sins from him. These false sympathizers will have an account to settle with the Master by-and-by for their work of death. 3T 329.1"
"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Both passages deal with the consequences of rejecting reproof. Proverbs 29:1 speaks of sudden destruction for those who harden their necks, while the EGW passage describes how rejecting reproof, especially through false sympathy, can lead to spiritual death. The connection is thematic and strong.
"There are many who profess to believe the truth who are blind to their own danger. They cherish iniquity in their hearts and practice it in their lives. Their friends cannot read their hearts, and frequently think that such are all right. 3T 329.2"
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
The EGW passage discusses people being blind to their own faults while others think they are 'all right,' which directly parallels the concept of focusing on the mote in another's eye while ignoring the beam in one's own eye from Matthew 7:3. The focus on self-deception and judging others is a clear thematic link.
"You are not now on the right track to obtain that peace and happiness which the true, humble, cross-bearing believer is sure to receive. You have the stamp of your father's character. You have a selfish disposition; you do not realize this, but it is true. Your principal thoughts are for yourself, to please yourself, to do those things which will be most agreeable to yourself, without reference to the happiness of those around you. You are making a mistake in searching for happiness. If you find it, it will be in the performance of duty and the forgetfulness of self. While your thoughts are so much upon yourself, you cannot be happy. 3T 329.4"
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
The EGW passage directly echoes the principle of self-denial and cross-bearing found in Matthew 16:24. The emphasis on forgetting self, performing duty, and not prioritizing personal happiness aligns perfectly with the call to deny oneself and follow Christ.