"My dear brother, your works are at variance with your professed faith, and your only excuse is the poor plea of convenience. The servants of God in past times have been called upon to lay down their lives in vindication of their faith. Your course illy harmonizes with that of the Christian martyrs, who suffered hunger and thirst, torture and death, rather than renounce their religion or yield the principles of truth. 4T 250.1"
"Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."
The EGW passage draws a parallel between the actions of the person being addressed and the sacrifices made by Christian martyrs, as described in Hebrews 11. Both passages highlight the willingness to endure hardship and even death for one's faith.
"It is written: “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?” Every time you put your hands to labor on the Sabbath day, you virtually deny your faith. The Holy Scriptures teach us that faith without works is dead, and that the testimony of one's life proclaims to the world whether or not he is true to the faith he professes. Your conduct lessens God's law in the estimation of your worldly friends. It says to them: “You may or may not obey the commandments. I believe that the law of God is, in a manner, binding upon men; but, after all, the Lord is not very particular as to a strict observance of its precepts, and an occasional transgression is not visited with severity on His part.” 4T 250.2"
"What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?"
The EGW passage directly quotes James 2:14, "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" and then applies this principle to the specific context of Sabbath observance.
"Many excuse themselves for violating the Sabbath by referring to your example. They argue that if so good a man, who believes the seventh day is the Sabbath, can engage in worldly employments on that day when circumstances seem to require it, surely they can do the same without condemnation. Many souls will face you in the judgment, making your influence an excuse for their disobedience of God's law. Although this will be no apology for their sin, yet it will tell fearfully against you. 4T 250.3"
"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
While not a direct quote, the EGW passage shares a thematic parallel with Matthew 18:6. Both passages address the serious consequences of leading others into sin through one's own actions or example. The EGW passage focuses on the influence of one's example on others' Sabbath observance, while Matthew 18:6 speaks more generally about causing "little ones" to stumble.
"God has spoken, and He means that man shall obey. He does not inquire if it is convenient for him to do so. The Lord of life and glory did not consult His convenience or pleasure when He left His station of high command to become a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, accepting ignominy and death in order to deliver man from the consequence of his disobedience. Jesus died, not to save man in his sins, but from his sins. Man is to leave the error of his ways, to follow the example of Christ, to take up his cross and follow Him, denying self, and obeying God at any cost. 4T 250.4"
"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."
EGW directly references the concept of self-denial and taking up one's cross to follow Christ, which is the core message of Matthew 16:24.