"The rabbis counted their righteousness a passport to heaven; but Jesus declared it to be insufficient and unworthy. External ceremonies and a theoretical knowledge of truth constituted Pharisaical righteousness. The rabbis claimed to be holy through their own efforts in keeping the law; but their works had divorced righteousness from religion. While they were punctilious in ritual observances, their lives were immoral and debased. Their so-called righteousness could never enter the kingdom of heaven. DA 309.1"
"Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."
The EGW passage directly echoes the sentiment in Matthew 23:28, criticizing the Pharisees for their outward appearance of righteousness while being inwardly hypocritical and full of iniquity. The connection is strong and directly related to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ's day was that a mere assent to the truth constitutes righteousness. In all human experience a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved to be insufficient for the saving of the soul. It does not bring forth the fruits of righteousness. A jealous regard for what is termed theological truth often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth as made manifest in life. The darkest chapters of history are burdened with the record of crimes committed by bigoted religionists. The Pharisees claimed to be children of Abraham, and boasted of their possession of the oracles of God; yet these advantages did not preserve them from selfishness, malignity, greed for gain, and the basest hypocrisy. They thought themselves the greatest religionists of the world, but their so-called orthodoxy led them to crucify the Lord of glory. DA 309.2 The same danger still exists. Many take it for granted that they are Christians, simply because they subscribe to…
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
The EGW passage emphasizes that merely assenting to truth is insufficient for salvation and that genuine faith must produce fruits of righteousness. This aligns with the principle in James 2:26 that faith without works is dead. The connection is a direct application of the principle.