People complain all of the time that they can't feel God or that they can't see God, or this or that about God, of which, the very absence of God in their lives, is proof positive that their search for God, has been, at best, meandering, unfocused, and lacking in desire. In point of fact, God is omnipresent, so that, the inability to find God is our own inability to do our part in making a concerted and unrelenting search for God. So too, mankind's desire to hold onto things that are evil, wrong, and sinful, are the very things that keeps us apart from God, for either we will be all one thing, or we will be all the other thing, of which, those that will not relinquish their sin, cannot conceivably be one with God.
It isn't easy to get rid of sin, evil, and wrong behavior, but certainly it must be admitted that if a given person has no interest in giving those things up, then, those things won't be given up. So then, the very first step in improving anybody's character, and thereby anybody's actual being is to actually desire to do so. The second step would be to take the steps to accomplish those goals, and the third step is to consistently keep one's eye on the prize of accomplishing such; of which, these things combined together should indeed bear good fruit.
Of course, human nature has a tendency, especially those that are somewhat lazy and lackadaisical, to desire shortcuts, of which, some orthodox religions, misquoted or not, seem to provide such shortcuts in order to demonstrate that there is a direct pathway to God and His forgiveness. While it is true that God is both loving and forgiving, that which is not perfect cannot merge with that that is.
So then, it is true that it is our sin that exiles us from God. It then follows that since each of us is gifted by our Creator with free will, that it is our own free will, misapplied, that exiles us from the be-all and the end-all of all existence. Further, it follows that this earth represents our proving ground, and therefore this represents an opportunity for each of us to prove to God by our behavior and by our actions, that we are not only good stewards of our abilities and gifts here on earth, but that we, without fail, are good neighbors to all.
Our quest should always be to do right and to be good for something, for every step taken in that direction is a step made to God and Light; and every step taken in the wrong direction is a step away from God and into the darkness of purposeful ignorance. The sin that we make and the sin that we create, is the sin that keeps us from re-uniting with God, for from God we were created, and our return to God is our ultimate destination, for all else that exists or ever could exist are mere shadows, mirages, and mirrors, that may bemuse us, but cannot forever sustain us.
So then, the end of our sin is the end of our exile from God.