33:31Ezekiel 33:31

They come as if they were God's people and sit and listen with words of much love, yet they refuse to do what they hear because their hearts pursue selfish gain and selfish interests.ED 259.2–3+3 Hearing with pleasure and appreciation is not obeying, but is like enjoying a very lovely song sung by a pleasant voice with skillful playing, and it leaves the character untransformed without fruit or growth in practice.Ms 35, 1907, par. 1–5+3 Outward devotion and loving speech do not make anyone faithful while the heart and actions follow other desires, and to treat the Bible as merely good moral instruction to follow as far as suits the time, or as a common story to be lightly heard and quickly forgotten, is to reject it as the Word of the living God that must mold actions, words, and thoughts.ST Oct 17, 1906+2 This is the condition of the foolish virgins just before Christ's second coming, who are not hypocrites but regard and advocate truth and hear with readiness, yet have not yielded to the Holy Spirit to have the old nature broken up and a new nature implanted, have not learned to know God by communion with Him, and so let service degenerate into a form.COL 411.1 No one can obey for another and no one's neglect excuses another's, so each person must search the Word for himself rather than commit his soul to ministers, and unfaithful ministers who neglect prayerful searching, preach error contrary to a plain Thus saith the Lord, and hinder others from obeying, bring ruin upon themselves and others proportionate to their influence.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24+1

They come to God's messenger as the people come, and they sit before him as His people, and they hear his words with apparent love for them, yet they will not do what they hear.ED 259.2–3+4 With the mouth they show much love and outwardly honor God with loving speech and an appearance of devotion, but inwardly there is a gap between outward devotion and inward desire, for the heart pursues covetousness and refuses obedience.ED 259.2–3+3 Hearing the word with pleasure and appreciation is not the same as doing it, and outward religious claims and listening do not make a person faithful when heart and action do not follow.ED 259.2–3+1

Their listening is as hearing a very lovely song of one that has a pleasant voice and plays well on an instrument, enjoying and appreciating the words without acting on them.Ms 35, 1907, par. 1–5+2 To hear in this way is to treat the message as a performance to be admired, where pleasure in hearing is mistaken for obedience, though the two are not the same.Ms 35, 1907, par. 1–5+1 Covetousness in this picture means the heart set on selfish gain and selfish interests rather than on God, ruled by covetous desires and covetous gain.ED 259.2–3+3

Those who so hear without obeying will afterward recognize that a prophet has been among them.Ms 35, 1907, par. 1–5

Outward religious claims do not make a person faithful when the heart and actions pursue other desires, for people may gather to hear God's words and outwardly honor Him with loving speech and apparent devotion while refusing to obey because their hearts are set on covetous gain and selfish interests.Lt 110, 1897, par. 26–29 Hearing the word with pleasure and appreciation is not the same as doing it.Lt 110, 1897, par. 26–29 Hearing truth without doing it produces no spiritual fruit or growth in Christian practice, for such faith is superficial and has not transformed the character.Ms 74, 1897, par. 33–35+1 It remains content with a surface work that does not assimilate the principles of the Word so that its influence abides.COL 411.1

The verse exposes professing to revere God's precepts and to live His Word while the life denies its power, treating the Bible as merely a book of good moral instruction to be heeded as far as is consistent with the spirit of the time.ST Oct 17, 1906 Against this it sets regarding Scripture as the Word of the living God that is life and is to mold actions, words, and thoughts, so that to hold God's Word as anything less than this is to reject it.ST Oct 17, 1906 It also exposes handling sacred truth lightly, treating it as a common story that can be quickly forgotten.STPW91 7.3 Such lightness shows hearts elsewhere, not truly in the work and not sanctified by the truth.STPW91 7.3

God's government holds each person personally responsible, for no one can obey for another and another person's neglect does not excuse neglect of one's own duty.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24+1 Those who commit their souls to ministers instead of searching the Word of God for themselves, and permit themselves to be deceived, are therefore not excused for neglecting to search.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 Ministers who take the responsibility of preaching yet neglect prayerful searching of the Scriptures entertain error and preach false doctrines contrary to a plain Thus saith the Lord, and stand directly in the way of obedience by warning the people against doing what God told them to do.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 They bring ruin upon themselves with condemnation proportionate to the influence their words and example had in leading others into transgression, and the blood of souls perishing through their unfaithfulness is upon them, for every person gives strict account for influence and no minister can pay ransom for deceived souls.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 Christ gave His life to save the lost and to give another trial to make return to loyalty possible, but those who do the enemy's work while professing to be on the Lord's side, hindering others from receiving the Word to justify sin, must bear the penalty of sin.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24

The class pictured is that of the foolish virgins living just before Christ's second coming.COL 411.1 They are not hypocrites, for they have a regard for truth, advocate truth, are attracted to those who believe truth, and come and sit and hear with readiness like stony-ground hearers, showing much love with the mouth while refusing to do what they hear because the heart goes after covetousness.COL 411.1 They have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit's working, have not fallen upon the Rock Christ Jesus with the old nature broken up, and have been content with a superficial work that fails to assimilate the principles of the word so that its influence is not abiding.COL 411.1 The Spirit works upon the heart according to desire and consent to implant a new nature, but they do not know God because they have not studied His character and have not held communion with Him, so they do not know how to trust and how to look and live, and their service to God degenerates into a form.COL 411.1

The chapter is an outline of the work God approves.18MR 183.5–184.4 It is a call to carry out Christ's commission through practical service, and medical missionary work is identified with the work Christ commanded His followers to do.Lt 54, 1898, par. 19 The call to lay aside self-assumed dignity, learn from Christ, and carry out His commanded work stands in contrast to hearing God's words and professing love for Him while the heart follows covetous desires and selfish gain.Lt 54, 1898, par. 19+1 Those entrusted as watchmen must remain alert to dangers threatening the spiritual life, health, and prosperity of God's people.18MR 183.5–184.4

This condition represented many at Battle Creek, where people came to hear God's message and showed outward affection yet refused to obey because their hearts pursued selfish gain, appreciating the words without acting on them as one enjoys a beautiful song, and mocked messages of mercy intended to turn them from error.Ms 28, 1905, par. 9–11 The same denial is seen when professing parents and teachers come and sit as God's people and hear God's words but will not do them, hearing the messenger as a very lovely song of one with a pleasant voice who plays well on an instrument but not obeying.ST Oct 17, 1906 It means professing to revere God's precepts and to live the Word while the life denies its power, treating the Bible as a book of good moral instruction to be heeded only as far as is consistent with the spirit of the time instead of regarding it as the Word of the living God that is life and is to mold actions, words, and thoughts, and to hold God's Word as anything less is to reject it.ST Oct 17, 1906 This rejection by those who profess to believe it keeps the teaching of Scripture from having effect upon youth and stands foremost among the causes of skepticism and infidelity in youth, who see in contrast the preciousness of the love of Christ, the beauty of His character, and the possibilities of a life given to His service.ST Oct 17, 1906

Those who commit their souls to ministers instead of searching the Word for themselves are not excused for neglecting to search.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 Ministers who take the responsibility of preaching yet neglect prayerful searching of the Scriptures entertain error and preach false doctrines contrary to a plain Thus saith the Lord, and stand directly in the way of obedience by warning the people against doing what God told them to do.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 They bring ruin upon themselves with condemnation proportionate to the influence their words and example had in leading men and women into transgression, and the blood of souls perishing through their unfaithfulness is upon their heads.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 Every person gives strict account for influence, and no minister can pay ransom for deceived souls.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24 Christ gave His life to save them, to give them another trial to make return to loyalty possible, but those who do the enemy's work while professing to be on the Lord's side, hindering others from receiving the Word to justify sin, must bear the penalty of sin.Ms 33, 1900, par. 22–24