Christ's blood NOT "suffering" offer the believer a chance at "redemption."
Only God will judge the heart of those "who" go to heaven.
" Paul certainly didn't believe he was saved, he continued to run the race, correct?"
Paul most certainly knew he was "saved."
His "race" was run to encourage and teach the Word -- under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
"Christ's blood NOT "suffering" offer the believer a chance at "redemption."
The fact that God "emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave" to enable Himself to suffer, has infinite merit, since God cannot suffer while in a divine nature only. God could have saved us by merely being born as a child, or whatever method He chose. Your distinction between blood and suffering is needless.
Regards
"Paul most certainly knew he was "saved."
His "race" was run to encourage and teach the Word -- under the direction of the Holy Spirit."
"Being saved" has more meaning than you appear to be giving it. It is more than "confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord".
"Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling in Christ Jesus." (Phil 3:13,14).
No mention of Bible preaching there.
One example of many of Paul knowing that the future was only something he could hope for. He knew he was saved in the past tense, that his journey towards God had really just begun. Paul also speaks of salvation as a current event:
"Through the Gsopel, you are also BEING SAVED, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain (1 Cor 15:2)
And finally, being saved is also described as a future event that will ONLY be experienced by those found faithful to Christ at the end of their lives:
"...the one who perserveres to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13)
"...whoever endures to the end will be saved (Matt 10:22)
Writing to the "saved" Christians in Corinth, Paul writes "don't you not know that the unjust will NOT inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters....will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10).
If "saved" Christians are involved in such matters and don't repent, they could lose their inheritance. Thus, salvation is not an absolute assurance. Paul teaches this again and again. And he did not see himself as exempt from this.
"See, then, the kindness and severity of God; severity toward those who fell, but God's kindness to you, PROVIDED YOU REMAIN IN HIS KINDNESS; OTHERWISE YOU TOO WILL BE CUT OFF (Rom 11:22)
Regards