Hi Lori, maybe it would help to approach this from a different perspective. What does a non-Christian need to get from where they are now to God ..

Actually, it's two things, 1) FORGIVENESS 2) RECONCILIATION First and foremost, we need to be "forgiven" by God, right? That's the goal!! So the next question then becomes, how can that goal be achieved, IOW, how/why (or on what basis) will God choose to forgive us? This is where the "blood of Christ" comes in. The Bible tells us that we are "justified by His blood" (
Romans 5:9) and that "the blood of Jesus .. cleanses us from all sin" (
1 John 1:7). Even the OT says similar things like "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow" (
Isaiah 1:18b). The "blood of Christ" is the 'means to an end'. It's shorthand for or representative of that which Christ did for us (His perfect life and, in particular, His death on the Cross). Why is this important? It's important because as Hebrews tells us, "w/o the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins" (
Hebrews 9:22). In a way similar to the blood shed for the forgiveness of sin in the OT (by animal sacrifices), the Lord Himself becomes our "spotless" Lamb and it is by His sacrifice, by His "blood", that we are able to be saved. Blood needed to be shed to pay for our sins, a death needed to occur. God accepts the sacrifice of His Son as the propitiation or payment for our sins.
We are FORGIVEN by God on that basis. And this is how we are "saved by GRACE". God forgives us based upon the sacrifice of His Son, on the basis of His shed blood, not ours. We don't "deserve" to be forgiven, but God chooses to save us anyway, on the basis of the merits of ANOTHER. In the end, what truly "saves" us is God's CHOICE to do so, and He makes that choice graciously, based upon UN-merited favor .. which is actually code for unmerited by 'us' ..

I hoped that helped. If not, let me know and I'll try again. Yours and His, David