Trust and Obey
Pleasing Christ While Avoiding Legalism and Lawlessness
- Christian Living
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Published: 2026
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Publisher's Description
All struggle with sin, even the strongest Christians. Those who have truly trusted in Christ for salvation have been set free from the condemnation and curse of sin, as well as from sin’s ruling authority in their lives. People do not have to be sinlessly perfect to experience the love, grace, and mercy of Christ. Yet Christ desires that sin be hated and killed to honor and please him—easier said than done. In the pursuit of personal holiness there is a ditch on either side of the road. The ditch of legalism teaches believers to relate to Christ like a cruel taskmaster, never pleased even with genuine attempts to obey him. This mindset overwhelms believers with despair. The opposite ditch of lawlessness is just as destructive. Some are tempted to indulge in sin in the name of being “free in Christ.” It may bring pleasure for a season, but this ultimately leads to great pain and heartache. The goal of this book is to help followers of Christ walk the narrow path of holiness, trusting in Christ alone for salvation. Christ calls believers to rest in his finished work and yet strive for holiness. How can both be done?
Endorsements (4)
“In Trust and Obey, Dr. Olan Stubbs offers the church a resource that is as theologically precise as it is pastorally urgent. Navigating the narrow path between the cliffs of legalism and the abyss of lawlessness is one of the most difficult tasks in discipleship, yet Olan does so with clarity and grace. He moves beyond abstract theory, placing the believer’s obedience firmly in the soil of justification and adoption. For any pastor or lay leader looking to shepherd hearts toward a joy-filled, grace-fueled obedience, this book is an essential tool for your discipleship library.”
“For the Christ-follower, the relationship between law and grace is difficult to navigate. Stubbs gives us a helpful map to travel with confidence.”
“It’s often difficult to take complex theological concepts and make them both clear and practical. This is one of Olan Stubbs’s strengths. In this book, as in his others, he writes in a clear and direct way, without using extraneous words, to help understand covenant theology and the law of God. But he doesn’t just give us knowledge, he makes it extremely practical and useful, for both new Christians and those who have known the Lord for many years. My hope is that this book would be read by scores of people, so that many would please Christ, while avoiding both legalism and lawlessness.”
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