This is a bit confusing.

I never noticed this dichotomy between John and Paul before.

Paul gets quite deep in to the thing about living either by faith or by the law but not both and that the whole law can be summed up with "love God will all your heart and soul and love your neighbor as yourself". 

Now I come across these verses.

1 John 5:2(NKJV)

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 

1 John 5:3(NKJV)

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 

2 John 1:5-6(NKJV)

And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 

This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Here is what I find confusing about it.  In all three verses John refers to God's commandments.  In all three cases he uses the plural of the word commandment.  That makes me think that John is referring to the 10 commandments which puts us back under the Law doesn't it? 

Is John closer to the position of Jesus than Paul is?  It was Jesus who said something like 'I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it'.  But was Jesus talking about continuing to live under the law or was Jesus referring to Himself fulfilling the law from the aspect of he was paying the final blood price for all of us?

Seems a bit ambiguous at this point but it is sure something to ponder in my daily study.  The one thing I do know and have absolute confidence in.  When the Holy Spirit decides it is time for me to understand this dichotomy, He reveal it to me. 

Trusting and following God is just so cool!