“And now why tarriest thou?”
" And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. "(Acts. 22:16)

We know the excuses Moses gave to Elohim when he was called to go to Egypt and tell the Pharaoh to let his people go. Elohim answered every one of Moses’ excuses. When Elohim asked Adam whether he had eaten the forbidden fruit, Adam pushed the blame on Eve. 
In the same way many Christians give excuses and push the blame on others when asked about their spiritual lives. They delay in taking baptism.

In Acts 22:16, Paul gives an account of his conversion. Ananias, a devout man, restored sight to a blind Saul and tells Saul, And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. The call of baptism is one that should not be delayed in obedience. We should act upon it immediately. David says, in Psa.95:7-8, ‘To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:’ Messiah’s voice must be heard today. The day of opportunity will not last forever; we should act while it is called today.

We read in Josh.18:3  And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the Elohim of your fathers hath given you?  Israel had finished their journey of forty years and reached the Promised Land. Five tribes had gone and possessed their inheritance. The other seven tribes were waiting but not making any moves towards their inheritance.
After waiting a year or more, Joshua blamed their slackness, and told them how to proceed. Elohim, by his grace, has given us a title to a good land, the heavenly Canaan, but we are not willing to take possession of it; we do not want to enter into that rest by faith, hope and joy. Israel had fared well for forty years. They had nothing to work for. Elohim provided them food and drink for forty years.  Their clothes and shoes did not become old or worn out. Their inheritance was before them but they were delaying to possess it. They had seen the difficulties face by the other five tribes abd were probably waiting for things to resolve themselves before they could venture forth. How long shall it be so with us? How long shall we stand in our own light, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities? Joshua stirs the Israelites up to take possession of their lots. He is ready to do his part, if they will do theirs.

How long are ye slack? This "slackness" in the difficult conflict against the powers of evil is not confined to Jews. This exhortation must be repeated to every generation also our own.
Ecc.12:1,’ Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;’ Postponing things is one of the characteristics if the human race. Everyone, from a 10year old to an 80 year old, puts off and gives excuses for not drawing near to Elohim. When we finally think that we will do it the next day, death comes suddenly! Does anyone delay in visiting a doctor if he knew that he was suffering from cancer or some other deadly disease? How much more careful we should be when we know that we are suffering with something deadlier than cancer, and that is sin?

Many say that they need to know more about Elohim and Yahshua Messiah. But many in the New Testament were converted after hearing the gospel just once! The Ethiopian eunuch wanted to be baptized after just one lesson, because he had "faith" which was necessary, not a deeper understanding of the scriptures(Acts. 8:35-37). Some mistakenly believe they are expected to act like mature  Christians right away
They look at those who have been Christians for years and they know they cannot act like that immediately, so they mistakenly assume they must change themselves completely before becoming Christians

Being a Christian is a growth process. We start out as "babes in Messiah", often still carnal in behavior(1Cor. 3:1-4) . But we are to grow, gradually putting off the "old man" and putting on the "new man"(2Pe 3:18; Col 3:8-10). Our faith must be as a mustard seed, the seed grows gradually into a big shrub, giving shelter to many bird.(Matt.13:31).There are many excuses men come up with:
I am not sure I can live the Christian life…
I am not good enough yet, I want to settle down in my life first…
There are hypocrites in the church…
I want to wait for my spouse or parents…
I am afraid of what my parents or spouse might think…
It may affect the way I run my business…
Remember, all it takes is to confess that you are a sinner and have faith in Yahshua Messiah. At first they may think you are disregarding their feelings or beliefs, but this is what your elders must have taught you. Your family is not going to be with you when you stand before the judgment throne of Yahweh! Your business associates will not be there, you will stand alone and answer for yourself.
There may be many other excuses one might give for not obeying the gospel, but this should be sufficient to show that there is really no justifiable reason to put off your obedience to the gospel. There is really no justification for not accepting the grace Elohim offers you through Messiah.

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