Who You Gonna Dunk?

Here’s one thing I don’t understand: Churches that have the audacity to tell people they can’t be baptized for one reason or another. For instance what about a pedophile? Would you feel comfortable baptizing a pedophile? What about a young unmarried pregnant girl? Someone that is stoned or drunk? Someone that is gay or lesbian? How can you look at those people and say “We don’t baptize people like you”. We tell them they’ve got to change. For some reason their sin is worse then ours. I went into the water when I was 13 years old a full fledged sinner. Unfortunately when I came up I was still a sinner. But I thank God that he sent Jesus to die for my transgressions. I thank God that He gave me the gift of the Holy Spirit when I was baptized. For it is only through God’s power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit that anyone can truly change. So in effect, when we deny someone being baptized we are in essence refusing them the only thing that can bring about change in their life. It’s like yelling at a kid for not doing their math homework but refusing to give them a pencil. Church’s think that by baptizing someone we are somehow condoning that person’s sin. When what they are actually doing is providing the only means by which the person can rid themselves of the sin they are so appalled by. Now if a person refuses to grow and to change that is a different matter all together. But we’ve got to provide ALL the tools necessary to change. And no tool is more important then the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.