The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Kyle W. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - Nature of Man
When man was first created he was made in the image of God. He was perfect like God and had no sin because he knew no sin. His name was Adam and God saw fit to give him a companion whom he named Eve. God gave them on erule and one rule only. He said, "Do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for in the day that you do you will surely die", Genesis 2:17. This was teh only commandment given to them, however if you have ever read Genesis or even have heard of this story you know that Adam and Eve sinned, listened to the devil, and were given over to a sinful nature, Genesis 3:15-24. Since that time our iniquities have hidden His face from us, (Isaiah 59:2) and we have become servants to the evil one.
Man is now doomed to have sin nature for the rest of the time God allows for us to inhabit the earth. We all are now basically evil for the Lord says that not one is righteous, Romans 3:9-10. Since we now have a sin nature Satan is our ruler and prince. The Lord tells us in jeremiah 17:9-10 that the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. In fact once the evil became so great on teh earth, God said "Enough!" In Genesis 6:5-6, God soon sent a worldwide flood to consume the earth and the evil of mankind with it. he then promised that even though every inclination of man was evil, He would never again destroy all mankind.
Throughout history man has made choices that define them. The Jews are such an example. even though they were God's chosen people, at times, they were still just as wicked as the tribes around them, Judges 6:1. It paiined God to see that they were surrendering to their sinful nature instead of following Him. Our sinful nature means that our hearts are filled with evil intentions, and our actions and words spring from teh heart, Genesis 8:21. In Romans 3 the Lord says that there is no one righteous, not even one. Also we know from reading the scriptures that the wages of sin is death, Romans 6:23. The penalty for our sin is eternal hell, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-0. So you might be thinking we have no hope. What hope do we have?
Even though God saw all fo this and how absolutely evil man's heart was, he loved us enough to give the ultimate gift. He sacrificed his Son to come to earth adn die to pay for our sinful nature through God's love and mercy, Genesis 27:33-36. Just because we all have a sin nature does not mean we have to stay in bondage to sin. Once we receive Jesus into our life, Satan is not the master anymore. Therefore we have an obligation to be a light in this world of sina nd to say no to sin when temptations arise. God states very clearly throughout his Word that man is evil and that we are sinful through and through! But thank God, He also provided a way to save us form our sinful nature.
