John the Baptist is a very important man in the New Testament when we look at the life of Christ. John's role was of preparing people for the arrival of Jesus. Jesus was already born, but the arrival in terms of who Jesus really was and how his birth and life fulfilled prophecies.
John's message in this chapter was to spread the word about a baptism of repentance. This thinking was intended for people to see past just feeling bad for their sins. There is nothing wrong with feeling bad for your sins, but what are you going to do about it?
I look at many sins as the physical embodiment of a way of thinking. For instance, gluttony (over eating) would be a sin as we who commit this sin have not treated our bodies as God would want us to. There are numerous health problems that come from overeating including bad backs, high blood pressure and heart attacks. So, if it is a sin to be a glutton (making food more important than God) then that sin is based on an idea that you already have. The idea could be something as simple as "when I am happy I eat what I want. And when I am sad I will eat what I want." There is no concern for "What does God think about this?"
Repentance is an action word used in this context to help us change our mind about sin. We all sin and we all fall short of the glory if God, but if we don't change the way we think about our sins, how will we actually stop it? I have enlisted in a few accountability partners for the issues that keep coming up, including my food/caloric intake. Overall, God still loves and I do not lose my salvation, but I do seek to honor God with body and my mind has to be in agreement.
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