As for the question, "Is salvation through obedience Hebrews 5:9" and the subsequent discussion, which cites Ephesians 2:8-9:
I do not at present have time to write a detailed analysis, but here are the primary factors which must be taken into consideration:
= First of all, the meaning of any word, phrase, or utterance is governed by the context.
= Second, the Scripture is a coherent whole, no part of which may be disregarded, John 10:35. Accordingly, any word, phrase, or utterance found in the Scripture has as its ultimate context the Scripture as a whole.
= Ephesians 2:8-9 is the lynch-pin upon which hangs the Protestant doctrine of Personal Salvation.
= The remainder of this enumeration demonstrates that, when Ephesians 2:8-9 is viewed in the context of the Scripture as a whole, it is difficult to argue that the verb SOZO ("saved") refers to the entire process of salvation.
= According to the Protestant "Gospel of Personal Salvation," Salvation is offered without condition and without obligation, and is obtained by means of a momentary transaction, much as one obtains a ticket for entrance into an amusement park.
= Moreover, the Protestant "Gospel of Personal Salvation" asserts that the transaction in which Salvation is obtained is irreversible. The Protestant reasons that, having done nothing to obtain Salvation, man can do nothing to lose Salvation.
= The Scripture time and time again declares and teaches that Salvation has conditions, a price, and obligations, and that the process through which Salvation is obtained is lifelong:
- There is a Way which leads to Life (which is to say, Life Everlasting) and at the entrance to the Way is a Gate. Thus, the first stage of the process is entry into the Way of Life.
- A price is to be paid. The price takes the form of repentance, sacrifice, obedience, and endurance. Consider, for example, the necessity of taking up the torture stake (KJV, "cross"), and (citing the confrontation of two armies and the construction of a tower) the prudence of counting the cost of discipleship before setting out in the Way.
- The process continues until the Resurrection, which is the concluding stage of the process.
- (Note that the terms "salvation" and "deliverance" are synonyms.) The only Salvation which is guaranteed by the Lord is the ultimate deliverance, which is deliverance from the Grave; that deliverance is provided by the Resurrection Out From the Dead.
- Though saved POSITIONALLY upon entry into the Way of Life, those walking in the Way are not saved IN ACTUALITY until the Resurrection.
= The process which results in Salvation is the pursuit of Sanctification (Hebrews 12:14). This pursuit is the activity in which the Justified is engaged as he walks in the Way of Life. Sanctification also is termed the "renewing of the mind" (Romans 12:2, Philippians 2:5), the "putting on of Christ" (Romans 13:4), and being "conformed to the image of Christ" (Romans 8:29).
= And though the sole means of justification is faith, apart from works, Jesus declares that justification is revocable; Jesus illustrates the fact with the parable of the unjust steward, Matthew 18:21-35.
= Much confusion stems from conflating and confounding Justification and Salvation; the two are distinct.
= The independence of Justification and Salvation is seen in the warning of the sixth chapter and the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The passages speak of Jews who, having entered the Way of Life, subsequently turn out of the Way, repudiating the need for atonement. They are of the same mind as those who cried out to Pilate, "Crucify him!" with the oath, "His blood be upon us and upon our children!" Given opportunity, they would crucify afresh the Son of God.
= (Explanation of the Talmudic concept of justification.) The Talmudic Jew views man as partly evil and partly good, with "Just" being the state in which the good outweighs the evil. This viewpoint, of good and evil weighed in a set of balances, explains the constant mention of "alms" in the Gospel Accounts, and the philanthropy of the contemporary Jew. Though he recognizes the presence of evil in his being, the Talmudic Jew has no sense of guilt, and he never seeks to have his sin washed away or carried away. Instead, he seeks to accumulate sufficient good to counterbalance the evil.
= Examination of passages which disallow "works" reveals that the works in view are "works of the Law," the Law being the Law of Moses; consider Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16. Though perfect observation of the Law can prevent a man from falling deeper into debt, it cannot remove the indebtedness.
= Having misconstrued passages such as Romans 3:20 and Galatians 2:16 as:
(1) applying to Salvation (as opposed to Justification) and
(2) having to do with ill-defined "works" (as opposed to the work of keeping the commandments of the Law of Moses),
the Protestant must wrest countless passages of the Scripture, attempting to devise for each an interpretation which is in conformance with his erroneous beliefs.