If you’ve ever been involved in a court trial, or watched one on television or in a movie, you probably know that the defendant in a trial is often offered the opportunity to “settle” the case, either before the trial begins or even during the trial — anytime prior to when the judge (or jury) gives the verdict.

By settling, the defendant gets a lesser penalty than what would normally be required for the crime he is accused of. Clearly, if the defendant is actually guilty of the crime, there is considerable incentive to settle the case, rather than receiving the maximum penalty.

The same concept applies to someone being sued in civil court. If you’re at fault in the matter, it could make sense to settle the case ahead of time and pay less money, rather than lose every dollar you have.

The key point in each of these examples is that you know if you’re actually guilty or at fault. Assuming you’re not fooling yourself into thinking you’re innocent when you’re not, you should be very interested in reducing the penalty for what you’ve done wrong.

Jesus teaches this exact lesson, encouraging people to honestly judge themselves when such situations arise and then take the necessary steps to minimize their penalty:

“When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison. I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.” (Luke 12:58-59; also see Matthew 5:25-26)

OK, that sounds like good advice. But why is Jesus teaching legal strategies? Why is He giving instructions on how to reduce your liability or your prison term when you go to court?

Well, He’s not. He’s actually teaching everyone how to prepare to stand before the eternal judge at the end of their lives on earth. The time will come for each person who lives on earth to go before that great judge and then a verdict will be given. If the verdict is “not guilty,” then that person enters into eternal rest with God. But if the verdict is “guilty,” then the penalty is eternal torment. Clearly, the stakes riding on that verdict are considerably larger than earthly dollars or even time in prison.

In order to be prepared for this “day in court,” it’s imperative for each person to do what Jesus taught earlier — honestly judge themselves to determine whether they are in fact guilty of sin. If someone is sincere in this self-examination, the answer is easy because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

When someone recognizes that they are guilty of sin and what the penalty will be when they go before the eternal judge, they should be anxious to do whatever can be done to “settle the case” and avoid that horrible outcome.

If you have given your life to Christ, then you had a day where you came to this realization and did what had to be done to settle your case. You repented of your sins and were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. You’re now living in a probationary period for the rest of your time on earth, and when that period is completed successfully, you will not need to fear going before the judge because the case has already been settled — your penalty has already been paid by the blood of Christ.

As representatives of Jesus Christ today, we need to make people aware of what the Lord has done for us and show them the way to have all of their sin “thrown out of court” and not used as evidence against them when they stand before that great judge at the end of their lives.

However, time is of the essence. As soon as a person’s life on earth ends, the verdict is given immediately. So, we need to encourage anybody who is facing a guilty verdict to settle their case now by having their sins forgiven by the Lord, before the time comes for the judge to give that dreaded verdict.

Let’s be like the four sons of Mosiah:

“They were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.” (Mosiah 28:3)

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.