"You should be careful not to preach the truth from strife or contention, for if you do you will most assuredly turn the battle against yourself and be found advancing the cause of the enemy rather than the truth of God. Every time that you engage in a contest it should be from a sense of duty. If you make God your strength and subdue yourself, and let the truth bear away the victory, the devices of Satan and his fiery darts will fall upon himself, and you will be strengthened, kept from error, and guarded from every false way. You need to cultivate caution and not rush on in your own strength. The work is important and sacred, and you need great wisdom. You should counsel with your brethren who have had experience in the work. But, above everything else, you should obtain a thorough knowledge of your own weakness and dangers, and should strengthen the weak points in your character, that you may not make shipwreck of faith. 3T 66.1"
"And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,"
The EGW passage warns against preaching the truth from strife or contention, aligning with the instruction in 2 Timothy 2:24 that a servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle. Both passages emphasize the importance of a gentle and non-contentious approach in sharing the truth.
We are living amid the perils of the last days, and if we have a spirit of self-sufficiency and independence we shall be exposed to the wiles of Satan and be overcome. Self-importance must be put away from you, and you be hid in God, depending alone upon Him for strength. The churches do not need your labor. If you are consecrated to God, you can labor in new fields, and God will work with you. Purity of heart and life God will accept. Anything short of this, He will not regard. We must suffer with Christ if we would reign with Him. 3T 66.2 Brother M could have accomplished good if he had, years ago, given all for Christ. He has not been sanctified through the truth; his heart has not been right with God. He has hid his talent in the earth. What will he who has put his talents to a wrong use say when the Master shall require him to give account of his stewardship? Brother M has not been an honor to the cause of God. It is dangerous to contend with the providence of God and to be dissat…
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
EGW directly alludes to the concept of resisting the devil's wiles, which is the core message of Ephesians 6:11.
"If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:"
EGW directly quotes the concept of suffering with Christ to reign with Him, which is the core message of 2 Timothy 2:12.