"Earnestness There is need of greater earnestness. Time is fast passing, and men willing to work as Christ worked are needed. It is not enough to live a quiet, prayerful life. Meditation alone will not satisfy the need of the world. Religion is not to be a subjective influence in our lives. We are to be wide-awake, energetic, earnest Christians, filled with a desire to give others the truth. GW 143"
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
EGW's call to action and spreading the truth directly echoes the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Both emphasize the importance of actively sharing the gospel and teaching others.
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
EGW's statement that 'Religion is not to be a subjective influence in our lives' and the need for 'wide-awake, energetic, earnest Christians' aligns with James 2:26, which emphasizes that faith must be accompanied by works to be truly alive. Both passages highlight the importance of active faith.
"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."
Both passages emphasize the urgency of working while there is still time. John 9:4 speaks of working while it is day, before the night comes when no one can work. EGW speaks of the need for greater earnestness because 'Time is fast passing.'
"Paul had a very humble opinion of his advancement in the Christian life. He speaks of himself as the chief of sinners. And again he says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect.” [ Philippians 3:12 .] Yet Paul had been highly honored by the Lord. GW 143.2"
"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."
Ellen White directly references Philippians 3:12 in this passage.
"Our Saviour declared John the Baptist to be the greatest of prophets; yet when asked if he were the Christ, John declared himself unworthy even to unloose his Master's sandals. When his disciples came with the complaint that all men were turning to the new teacher, John reminded them that he was but the forerunner of the Coming One. GW 143.3"
"He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose."
The EGW passage directly references John's statement about being unworthy to unloose Jesus' sandals, which is found in John 1:27.
"Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him."
The EGW passage directly references John's statement that he is not the Christ but was sent before him, which is found in John 3:28.
"Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."
The EGW passage directly references Jesus' statement about John the Baptist being the greatest of prophets, which is found in Matthew 11:11.
"Workers with this spirit are needed today. The self-sufficient, satisfied with themselves, can well be spared from the work of God. Our Lord calls for laborers who, feeling their own need of the atoning blood of Christ, enter upon their work, not with boasting or self-sufficiency, but with full assurance of faith, realizing that they will always need the help of Christ in order to know how to deal with minds. GW 143.4"
"Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;"
Both passages discuss the need for workers/laborers. While not a direct quote, the theme of needing more people to do God's work is present in both.
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
Both passages address the importance of humility and avoiding self-sufficiency, especially in the context of religious work. EGW expands on the principle of not thinking too highly of oneself, applying it to those engaged in God's work.
"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;"
Both passages emphasize that human beings are not self-sufficient and that their ability to do God's work comes from God. The EGW passage echoes the principle that our sufficiency is of God, not ourselves.