Hebrews 5:9 Explained

Hebrews 5:9 says, 'And being made perfect, He became (past tense) the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him (present tense);"

So here's another of the many misapplied verses in saying that it's a faith plus works salvation when it is not. Works for the Christian come BECAUSE they are saved, not to stay saved (Ephesians 2:8-10). So here's a cross-reference verse in John 8:47 that says, "He that is of God heareth God's words ye, therefore, hear them not because ye are not of God." and in John 10:27, "My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me." For a Christian, obedience is just normal because of the grace of God and that they hear Him because they are His, and obedience is a natural response. However due to the still ongoing sinful nature, the old man (1 John 1:8) there is still the struggle against sin while the new man, born of God CANNOT sin (1 John 3:9) in which the flesh vs. Spirit battle goes on- believers only win and remain obedient by the grace of God (Titus 2:11-15). Of course, the time comes when Christians will fall into sin so they need 1 John 1:9 DAILY because even in thoughts, murder and adultery are committed.

However one must realize also this that when a person gets saved and trusts Jesus Christ, that was a very act of obedience in itself too. Why? Jesus had said throughout Scripture commanding men to repent (change of mind) and believe the Gospel because NO MAN can ever fulfill the Law but He did. By obeying that one command, Christians are entitled to eternal salvation and if anybody is adding works (ex. sacraments, good works...) to getting saved, they are STILL disobeying the Lord Jesus Christ and they are doing things that are not made for them. And one thing, eternal salvation is NOT obtained at death, it's obtained at the VERY MOMENT they believe as 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, "For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvation."