In Memory of My Friend

My friend, James Odis Webb, went to be with his God on September 19, 2013.  He was 77.  A longtime resident of Lafayette County, Mississippi, his remains are buried southeast of Oxford in the Yellow Leaf Cemetery.  He was a man of many faults and failures.  Yet as long as I knew him, he confessed that he had no hope but the blood and righteousness of Christ alone.

He once asked me to read the following Scripture at his funeral:

“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God`s elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:33-34).

Below are a few quotes from Mr. Webb.  Some are not original to him, nor did he ever claim originality.  It’s just that I heard him say these things so often they are irrevocably tied to him in my mind.

“Faith in the heart is life in the soul.”

“We are born into this world with our hearts cast down to the earth and our feet kicking against heaven.”

“'Once saved, always saved' is dime store theology.”

"Does a man believe with the old heart or the new heart?"

“Salvation is the revelation of Christ to the soul.”

“We have been saved; we are being saved; we shall be saved.”

 "If you listen long enough, an uncoerced man will always confess what he truly believes."

“It took more of God’s power to save one sinner than to create the heavens and the earth.”

“How can you believe that God loves you and Christ died for you and not be saved?”