We have a saying in Christianity, "Your sin separates you from God."
To us as Christians, we fully understand this concept. Although, there's only one solid scripture in the Bible that directly supports this concept, we know it is true.
Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (Isa. 59:1-2)
We know more about our sin separating us from God empirically, then we do biblically. As Christians, we know it to be true. We feel it. When we sin, we feel yucky, and we feel badly that we disappointed God. This is a good thing. Regenerated Christians want to please our Lord and repentance brings forth a renewed right relationship, and a flurry of love coming from our Father. We don't like being separated from God. Praise Jesus!
But have you ever put yourself in the shoes of an unbeliever? Imagine hearing as an unbeliever that you are too yucky to be around God.
What the unbeliever hears is unimaginably offensive. They hear that your God is prejudiced, that they can't be around anybody who is not in your religion.
Compare the phrase "God can't be around you as a sinner," with Jesus' purposeful action to go directly to the sinner. As it turns out, Jesus directly confronts our modern presentation of the gospel with his own words and actions.
In a forthcoming book, titled Faith Forward--7 Myths That Brought Down Christianity and How We Can Build It Back, I explore many of these Christian concepts that make full sense to the believer, and yet are an anathema to the unbeliever's ears. Moreover, I dissect Jesus' life, actions and words to discover how we have God's message wrong, and how we can return to a first century message, to live, speak and act like Jesus.
Faith Forward, my eighth book, is in beta right now and I am actively seeking a literary agent to represent me. If you know of one, I'd be grateful for a lead. Also if you would like to be a beta reader, please let me know.