No one can live the Christian life until they are free from the law. It is the law that promotes sin. The more one tries to be holy by keeping the law the more one will sin, Romans 7:8. This is why the organized church is full of hypocrites.
No one can claim to be a Christian if they don't follow the commands of Jesus:
1Jn 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him,
if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
Apart from those words being inspired by God, why would and could John write such a thing? Because he was merely repeating what Christ himself said, as recorded in John's gospel:
Joh 14:15 “
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
...
Joh 14:21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
Joh 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Joh 15:12 “
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
And what are just
some of those commandments from Jesus?
Mat 5:23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Mat 5:24
leave your gift there before the altar
and go.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
...
Mat 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
Mat 5:28 But I say to you that
everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Mat 5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.
Mat 5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Mat 5:31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
Mat 5:32 But I say to you that
everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Mat 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
Mat 5:34 But I say to you,
Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
Mat 5:35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 And
do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37
Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Mat 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
Mat 5:39 But I say to you,
Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek,
turn to him the other also.
Mat 5:40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,
let him have your cloak as well.
Mat 5:41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile,
go with him two miles.
Mat 5:42
Give to the one who begs from you, and
do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Mat 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
Mat 5:44 But I say to you,
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
1Jn 3:22 and whatever we ask we receive from him,
because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
1Jn 3:23 And
this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another
, just as he has commanded us.
1Jn 3:24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
1Jn 4:21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
2Jn 1:4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth,
just as we were commanded by the Father.
2Jn 1:5 And now I ask you, dear lady—
not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.
2Jn 1:6 And
this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.
And here, Jesus not only commands the disciples to go make more disciples, but also to teach others "to observe all that I have commanded you."
Mat 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, “
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Mat 28:19 Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mat 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(All ESV.)
Putting that all together then, Jesus issues quite a number of commands and rules for living as his followers. Indeed, he says that anyone who loves him will keep his commandments, which clearly implies that those who don't keep his commandments does not love him. (And John reiterates this in his epistles.) Jesus then commands the disciples to go make more disciples of all nations and to teach them to follow all that he commanded the disciples. That simply cannot be denied.
The result is seen throughout the rest of the NT, where most of the books have at least some commands and rules for right belief and holy living as followers of Christ.
This has nothing to do with justification, which is a point that Paul continually makes--no one can ever be justified by the law. It is about
sanctification and obedience. Some of the commands and rules for believers are from the law and all are based on the moral law:
Mat 22:37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the great and first commandment.
Mat 22:39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (ESV)
We cannot follow them and carry them out on our own; we need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He provides the understanding of the rules and commands, the will to follow them, and the wisdom in how to apply them in our daily lives. To ignore those rules and commands is to ignore God, ignore what he has commanded, and is evidence that one doesn't actually love him.
