There is the opinion that one should overcome a bad habit or sin before being baptized. The thinking is that since baptism can be likened to a marriage, entering such a union while still involved with sin is tantamount to committing adultery.
This suggests to me that one has to be perfect before baptism can take place. I don’t agree with that.
When I accepted Jesus into my life, I gave myself over to Him as I was. At the time, I was engaged in sexual immorality and the breaking of several of the Ten Commandments, including working on the Sabbath.
But I accepted Him because I understood the basics of the Gospel; was sorrowful for the way I had lived; believed that Jesus could save me and lead me, and I wanted to live a godly life.
That led me to wanting to be baptized immediately. However, one pastor refused my request because I wasn’t sin-free. Another advised me to wait and first go through months of study concerning doctrinal issues. I respect those who choose to go that route, but I refused. For at that point, I had been impacted by and convicted of the words “repent and be baptized.”
I knew that repentance involved a change of mind, which had occurred, and nothing was going to stop me from immediately being baptized. And so I was. Afterwards, I completed the studies.
Because my repentance (change of mind) was sincere, I didn’t have to struggle on my own to complete my repentance, in terms of action. My sexual activities melted away and the Lord opened a door through which I could stop working on the Sabbath, and haven’t since. The Holy Spirit brought about those things, and the elimination of others, by empowering me through faith, prayer, and encouragement from my spiritual family.
It seems to me that if God will accept a person in whatever condition he or she is in; then, if requested, God’s ministerial servants should baptize that person; that is, if that person has a basic understanding of the gospel, is repentful, and expresses belief in Jesus.
It happened that way in the Bible, what with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8: 36-38); the Roman centurion, Cornelius, and his household (Acts 10: 47, 48); and the household of Paul’s and Silas’ jailer (Acts 16: 30-33).
Surely, as we all are, those people were flawed with sinful habits. Yet, upon their understanding of the gospel, sorrowful repentance, and confession of Jesus as Lord and Savior, they were baptized on the spot.