The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Nathan K. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Research - The Nature of Man
I think the nature of man is best explained in Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?"
God did not intend it to be this way in the beginning. God had made man in his own image: perfect.
Consider what Genesis 2:1-6 says: "The serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?' The woman said to the serpent, 'From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' The serpent said to the woman, 'You surely will not die! 'For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'
"When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate."
Deception is the devil's biggest weapon; he has used it over the centuries in such crafty ways that we cannot imagine and in many ways that we may think are not that bad. Yet this deception is at the very heart of the sin that we try so hard to erase from our lives.
These verses are the perfect example of what man does naturally when trust in God falters.
Before the flood in Genesis 6: 5-7 it says "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
"The LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."
The consequences are harsh when man follows his natural instincts. God can only tolerate our sinful, wicked hearts so long.
But He continually offers us the chance at repentance and repeatedly shows us mercy. Again, consider Scripture: "The Lord smelled the smoothing aroma; and the Lord said to Himself I will never again curse the ground on account of man, although the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done."
We see here that God knows we will still stumble and fall, but because of His mercy and grace never again will He wipe the race of man from the face of the earth without giving them a chance to become one of His children. He offers them a chance to be saved from sin and gain eternal life.
From these studies, I've concluded that man is evil. It is important that each person turn from the evil he naturally clings to and searches for the truth that's found in Jesus. Once they've repented from these wicked ways, people should cling instead to Christ.
