What is the Catholic Church's position on neglecting works of the law?

The common Catholic apologetic against _sola fide_ is that St. Paul was talking about ["Works of the Law"](https://taylormarshall.com/2013/10/paul-mean-by-faith-and-works-of-the-law.html) , so assuming Catholics don't believe that works of the law save someone why are there [precepts of the Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precepts_of_the_Church) ? Considering the soul of a person who does everything proclaims their believe in Jesus and excels at everything, but fails to keep the precepts of the Catholic Church: If it is a mortal sin to violate the precepts of the Church; and following a precept is technically a "work of the law" in the New Testament, is it right to say that the Church teaches that works of the law save you?