Ways That Man Tries to Reach God

For some reason, mankind has a problem with letting God take care of the problem. Man insists on trying to justify himself and his "goodness" by doing something. This something includes good works, religions, philosophies, etc. The following diagram shows this unfortunate reality.

The table below describes two of these methods to reach God and how God views them.

Man's Effort	Reference	Verse	Comment
Good deeds	Isaiah 64:6	All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.	This verse highlights that, even though mankind can exhibit goodness, because of the infinite holiness gap, our finite good deeds, by comparison, are "filthy rags".
Religion	Colossians 2:16,17	Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.	This verse reminds us that religious ritual is a mere (symbolic) "shadow" of the things that were to come, but Christ Himself is the reality.