Since the beginning of the early church, playing loose with the rules has plagued church communities often leading many people astray. Christians, even those who would call themselves devout, do away with the need to live as free from sin as they can, simply because the grace of God has become too easy.
Even the Apostle Paul had this problem with many of the early congregations. The Corinthian church, for instance, was full of believers that participated in practices that were "not tolerated even among pagans." (1 Corinthians 5:1). In Romans 6:1-2, he also emphasises to the Romans saying, "What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
Nowadays, it's no different. We think of this licentiousness as a new problem, but it's something that has been present since the beginning of time. Adam and Eve were in some way caught up with licentiousness, abusing the goodness and grace of God in exchange for cheap pleasures in sin. Why is obedience important for Christians?
Obedience affirms your faith
It's virtually impossible to act in faith without being willing to obey. Faith has to do with trusting God, and to say that we trust God while being unwilling to trust His commandments by adhering to them does not make any sense. While I am not assuming that we can and are to be perfect because that's impossible, faith will ultimately lead to drive us to do good works which includes obeying God's laws progressively.
God's grace is the power that cleanses us of all sin, but it is also the power that empowers us to walk in a way that honors God. Titus 2:12 tells us that the grace of God teaches us "...to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age."
Obedience is evidence of submission
There is a heavy emphasis in the Bible over the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Jesus is referred to as Lord over 700 times in the New Testament. Following Jesus is the central call to action in the Christian faith and we cannot claim to follow Christ when we do not submit to Him as Lord over every area of our lives.
If Jesus is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. James 4:7 commands us, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Obedience is evidence of that submission. One cannot say that he or she is willing to submit and not be willing to be obey.
