The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Joel M. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Research on the Nature of Man
The nature of man. What does it mean? What exactly is the nature of man? The definition of nature states: The entire compass of ones life. Or, the inherent character of a person. Man's nature was originally supposed to be the nature of God. Man was made in God's own image, which is clearly stated in Genesis 1:27 when God said, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Everything was as it should be until man was tempted my Satan and sinned against God. Since that day, man's nature has been corrupt and evil, with not a shred of hope in saving ourselves.
Man was originally good. God Himself said after He had created man, "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31 Man was able to live in face to face interaction with God every single day. But man was tempted to be like God and gave in. This is still a big problem today. Man's intelligence, or talent, or wealth, can try to take the place of God. And then man believes he can do it on his own.
After man's Fall, man's nature was undoubtedly evil. Some people may say that since we are inevitably evil, then why try to be good? That view, without a doubt, show's man's evil nature. In Gal. 5:17, it says, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other…" Now I said earlier that we had no hope in saving ourselves. That is very true. We do, however, have hope In Jesus. I Corinthians 15:21 says, by a man came death, referring to Adam, but also that through a man came the resurrection from the dead, referring to Jesus. The resurrection from the dead indicates not only Jesus' resurrection, but also the new life we have in Him when we believe.
Now man's nature is evil, we've established that. In Rom. 1:29-31, it shows just how awful we are apart from God. It says, "They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless." That… is pretty appalling. But, once man believes that he is in need of a savior, and submits his life to Jesus, his nature is no longer sin loving. Ephesians 2:4-6 says that because of God's mercy, and since He loved us so much, even when we were dead in our sins(fallen nature) He made us alive in Christ(redeemed nature)
Even thinking about how hopeless we are without God just makes me even more and more thankful every time I think about it. Yes, man's nature is originally evil. With God however, we are redeemed! Gal. 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
