/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>39894924
>国民は法に従わなければならないよ。
>Citizens must abide the law

Might some kind anon unravel "従わなければならないよ" with me?
>従う
to obey/abide
>従わない
negation to combine with
>ならない
must not do
>よ
emphazises the whole sentence
>従わなければ
hypothetical conditional of the negated verb?

Why do I use 従わなければ and not 従わない? As a beginner this sounds like:
>"If you do not obey, you must not"
which kind of makes sense but feels silly. Is there something I am interpreting wrong or a piece of grammar that will help me wrap my head around this?