Biblical Foundations: The Fallout of the Fall

Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith continue their series on deep change by tracing the biblical roots of human brokenness in Genesis 3 and 4. They focus on how the fall is not only about death, but also about conflict, sorrow, pain, and the inward turn toward self-rule. We frame transformational change as something God must do in us, not something we can manufacture on our own.

Key topics

• In this episode: Alex frames the series as a biblical exploration of deep change, especially for listeners who may think introspection sounds more psychological than biblical.
• Steve explains that Genesis 3 is not only about physical death, but also about separation from God, the loss of connection with the Creator, and the need for reconciliation.
• They unpack the curse language in Genesis 3 as a pattern of conflict, showing how rupture enters relationships, labor, childbirth, and human community.
• Steve highlights the Hebrew idea of pain and sorrow in ordinary human activities like work and childbearing, showing that the fall distorts what was meant to be normal and good.
• They connect Genesis 3 to Genesis 4, where Cain becomes the first clear picture of sin mastering a person through anger, resentment, and violence.
• Steve explains that God’s warning to Cain shows both divine nearness and human responsibility: sin desires to control, but Cain is still told to rule over it.
• The discussion emphasizes that humans often try to define good and evil apart from God, which leads to conflict between individuals, families, and nations.
• Alex and Steve connect this pattern to later biblical narratives, including Jacob and Esau and Naomi’s bitterness in Ruth, showing how hurt of the heart shapes sinful action.
• They stress that the fall produces both sin and sorrow, and that many destructive choices are rooted in woundedness as much as rebellion.
• The episode closes by pointing ahead to God’s covenant-making work in later Scripture, where divine intervention becomes the answer to human brokenness.

Reversing the Fall: Why Deep Change Starts With Scripture

This conversation revisits the foundation of deep change by moving back to Genesis and asking what humans were created for in the first place. Steve Smith argues that transformation is not a self-help idea or a psychological framework, but a biblically grounded return to the intimacy, goodness, and alignment with God that existed before the fall.

We discuss how Romans 7, Genesis 1 to 3, and Romans 8:28 connect into one story: God created humans for relationship, the fall introduced shame and self-rule, and spiritual transformation is God restoring people to what they were meant to be.

Key topics

• Steve Smith grounds deep change in Scripture, not psychology
• Romans 7 is presented as the Bible’s chapter on introspection
• Transformation is framed as a return to created purpose
• Genesis is treated as the minimum revelation we need, not a full explanation of God
• “Good” in Genesis is a major theme
• Humans were created in God’s image for relationship
• The fall is described as a rejection of God’s reign
• Pre-fall innocence is defined as openness, not ignorance
• Shame is understood as relational, not merely physical
• Knowledge itself is not the problem
• The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is about competing moral authority
• The conversation connects personal sin patterns to the larger fall narrative
• Intimacy with God is the opposite of pride
• The episode ends by framing transformation as restoration

Deep Change Podcast - The Done Disciplines: Meditating on God’s Love

This episode wraps up the third of the done disciplines and focuses on why meditating on God’s love is essential for intimacy with God.

Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith unpack how a distorted view of God can fuel fear, shame, and self-punishment, and how Scripture reframes that relationship around love, trust, and transformation.

We discuss how God’s love becomes experiential, not just theoretical, and why that matters for healing, obedience, and daily discipleship.

Key topics

• In this episode, Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith close out the third done discipline by focusing on meditating on God’s love as a foundation for intimacy with God.
• Steve explains that many believers struggle to approach God because they carry a fearful, punitive image of Him shaped by family background, church experiences, or personal wounds.
• The conversation centers on Ephesians 3, where Paul prays that believers would grasp the height, width, depth, and length of Christ’s love and be filled with the fullness of God.
• Steve emphasizes that believers are already rooted and established in love, but often fail to fully grasp it in a way that changes how they live.
• Alex reflects on how an abusive or transactional environment can make God feel conditional, and Steve shares his own story of growing up angry and learning to expect punishment from God.
• Steve describes a turning point when, after self-condemnation over sin, he sensed God saying, “But I love you anyway,” which shifted him from mental agreement to lived experience.
• The discussion highlights Romans 8:28 and 8:29, with Steve explaining that God works all things toward the good of conforming believers to the likeness of Jesus.
• Alex and Steve talk about how meditating on God’s love changes interpretation: instead of reading hardship as divine rejection, believers can bring pain to God in trust.
• Practical examples include choosing passages like Romans 8:31 to 39, Ephesians 3:17 to 19, and 1 John 4 to focus the mind on God’s character and love.
• The episode closes by tying God’s love to deep change, showing that trust in His love is what makes real transformation possible.

Notable quotes

“But I love you anyway.”

“It changes how we know God so that we will trust Him.”

“Being rooted and grounded in love” is not theory. It is the ground of transformation."

The Done Disciplines: Meditating on God’s Love

This episode wraps up the first three done disciplines in the Deep Change series, with a focus on meditating on God’s love. Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith explore why intimacy with God is hard when our picture of Him is shaped by fear, shame, or punishment, and how Scripture re-forms that view.

We discuss how rootedness in love changes the way believers interpret suffering, resist sin, and trust God in everyday life. Steve also shares personal examples of moving from self-condemnation to receiving God’s love as a lived reality, not just a doctrine.

Key topics

• In this episode, Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith finish the third done discipline - meditating on God’s love - after previously covering rest and appropriation.
• Steve explains that many believers struggle with intimacy because they secretly picture God as angry, distant, or punitive.
• Ephesians 3:17 to 19 is central to the discussion, especially the idea that believers are already rooted and grounded in love.
• The main challenge is not whether God loves us, but whether we have actually grasped that love deeply enough for it to shape our decisions.
• Steve shares his own story of being taught punishment, then realizing through years of meditation that God’s love is not withdrawn when he fails.
• The episode contrasts mental assent with embodied belief, emphasizing that “the Bible tells me so” must become experiential trust.
• Romans 8:28 to 29 is used to show that God works all things toward conforming believers to the likeness of Jesus.
• Alex and Steve discuss practical ways meditation on God’s love changes reactions to hurt, disappointment, and temptation.
• They also address how this discipline reshapes prayer, reducing fear-based spirituality and increasing trust, dependence, and openness.
• The episode closes by pointing toward the next series, which will show how deep change is rooted in Scripture, covenants, and both the Old and New Testaments.

• “Jesus is now the standard by which we measure ourselves, not the law.”
• “We are led by the Spirit, but not all of us are working at keeping in step with Him.”
• “The righteous will live by faith in the faithful One.”

Notable quotes

• “Jesus is now the standard by which we measure ourselves, not the law.”
• “We are led by the Spirit, but not all of us are working at keeping in step with Him.”
• “The righteous will live by faith in the faithful One.”

Appropriating What God Has Already Given

We continue the conversation on intimacy with God and transformational change, focusing on the second of the “done disciplines”: appropriation. Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith explain how believers often ask God for what He has already provided in Christ, and why learning to take hold of those gifts changes how we think, respond, and live.

We discuss how hope, riches, and power from Ephesians 1:18 to 19 become practical in daily life, especially in moments of frustration, despair, and relational conflict. Steve also shares personal stories from marriage and parenting to show what it looks like to stop trying to change in human strength and instead rely on what God has already done.

Key topics

• Steve defines appropriation as taking hold of what God has already given for spiritual benefit
• The difference between asking God to give something and receiving what is already ours in Christ
• Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:18 to 19 as the foundation for hope, riches, and power
• Why hope is not wishful thinking but confidence in God’s promise
• How the “In Christ” passages in Ephesians and Colossians help believers identify what they already have
• A personal story about God confronting Steve’s criticism toward his wife and changing his response over time
• Why “I can’t” is an honest prayer and often the beginning of real transformation
• How appropriation applies in ordinary moments like parenting stress, irritability, and family chaos
• The connection between spiritual warfare, discouragement, and forgetting what God has already supplied
• Why the home becomes the proving ground for whether transformation is real

Transformational change starts with intimacy with God rather than with a longer to-do list. Alex Tarasiuk and Steve Smith unpack the first of the “done disciplines,” showing how rest, appropriation, and later meditating on God’s love flow from what God has already finished in Christ.The discussion matters because it reframes spiritual growth from effort and self-improvement to receiving, trusting, and living from what has already been given. Steve also grounds the discussion in Ephesians, Romans, Matthew, and examples from everyday family life.

Key topics

• Steve Smith explains that “done disciplines” are practices rooted in what God has already accomplished through Christ, not things believers perform to earn transformation.
• The first discipline, rest, is defined as being with God without an agenda, not as emptying the mind but as turning attention toward God in trust.
• Alex and Steve contrast reformational thinking, which emphasizes doing more spiritual tasks, with transformational thinking, which emphasizes relationship, trust, and receiving God’s work.
• Steve explains appropriation as taking hold of what God has already given, rather than asking God to give again what is already available in Christ.
• Ephesians 1:18 to 19 is central to the discussion: hope, riches, and power are presented as realities believers already possess and must learn to receive.
• Steve uses the refrigerator illustration to show appropriation: if something is already in the fridge, you do not need to beg for it, you simply take it and use it.
• The conversation stresses that spiritual change is not self-generated. God’s power, not human grit, is what changes habits, responses, and character.
• Steve shares a personal testimony about God ending his pattern of criticizing his wife, showing that transformation can become visible in ordinary marriage and family life.
• Alex and Steve discuss how spiritual warfare, despair, and self-condemnation intensify when believers forget what they already have in Christ.
• The conversation closes by distinguishing done disciplines from do disciplines, and by linking all of it back to the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Timestamps

00:00 - Introducing intimacy with God and the discipline of appropriation
02:34 - Why believers ask God for what He has already given
04:29 - The refrigerator illustration and what appropriation means
07:14 - Hope as surety, not wishful thinking
08:12 - Romans 5 and hope in the glory of God
10:19 - Watchman Nee, Ephesians, and the pattern of sit, walk, stand
12:07 - Christ as everything we need, not just one resource among many
14:16 - Paul and Silas as an example of hope under pressure
16:19 - “In Christ” as the key to riches and inheritance
17:19 - Power, spiritual change, and the story of stopping criticism
21:16 - God’s answer to “I can’t” and the beginning of real change
23:29 - Why trying harder without power always fails
25:52 - Hope, riches, and power as answers to fear, confusion, and weakness
27:41 - What appropriation looks like in a hectic family morning
30:03 - Why the disciplines are not silos
31:33 - Wrestling with God until He shows what is driving our reactions
32:04 - The ice water spill and the contrast between old and transformed responses
33:47 - Why forgiveness alone does not equal change
35:48 - How appropriation changes the inner life, not just the moment
38:51 - Hope, inheritance, and seeing life in a larger context
41:25 - Spiritual warfare, brokenness, and the armor of God
43:24 - Why the home is the real proving ground of transformation
46:09 - Living from what has already been given in Christ
47:38 - Allowing Christ’s forgiveness and power to work through us
48:25 - The practical summary of hope, riches, and power
49:26 - Previewing meditating on God’s love
52:12 - “It is finished” and why done means done
53:34 - Coming to God with confidence and lightness

Steve explains that many people do not immediately want change, even when they know it would be better for them. Pain can become familiar, and familiarity can feel safer than the unknown life on the other side of healing. Sometimes pain also becomes identity—through victimhood, anger, addiction, or the need for justice—and letting go of it can feel like losing a part of yourself.Steve and Alex connect the man at Bethesda to people today who minimize the help they receive, externalize responsibility, or resist healing because they are afraid of what comes next. They talk through how stress can trigger old coping patterns, how addiction forms a feedback loop, and why self-awareness alone is not enough to produce change.Transformation is not about becoming a different person, but about becoming who God made people to be. Rather than flattening personality or producing religious sameness, God’s work frees people from the weight of sin so the true self can be seen more clearly.

Key takeaways:

• Healing begins with the question: Do you want to get well?
• Familiar pain can feel safer than unknown freedom.
• Identity built around victimhood, anger, or addiction can block transformation.
• Stress often triggers old coping patterns and addictive behaviors.
• Real change requires surrender, humility, and intimacy with God.
• God’s transformation does not erase personality; it reveals who was meant to be.

Healing is possible, but it starts with honest surrender and a willingness to let God heal the places people have learned to live with.

Do You Want to Get Well?

In this episode of Deep Change, Alex and Steve continue the journey through transformational change and ask the pivotal question from John 5: “Do you want to get well?” They explore why healing is not just about information or self-awareness, but about surrender, trust, and a willingness to let God transform the parts of us we’ve used to survive.The conversation goes deep into how pain, identity, stress, and addiction can keep people stuck. Steve shares how people often cling to familiar patterns because those patterns help them make sense of life, even when they are destructive. Alex and Steve also discuss the risk and cost of healing, the difference between symptoms and addiction, and how intimacy with God becomes the path toward lasting change.

Key Topics

• The meaning of Jesus’ question: “Do you want to get well?”
• Why people may resist healing
• How identity can become tied to pain
• The difference between self-knowledge and transformation
• Stress as a trigger for familiar coping behaviors
• How symptoms can become addiction
• Why healing requires trust, surrender, and intimacy with God
• The danger of returning to old patterns after change
• The role of compassion when helping others who are stuck

Chapters

00:00 — Introduction to the question “Do you want to get well?”
01:06 — Why change requires choice
02:51 — The root issue: rejecting God’s reign
04:32 — A church story that illustrates resistance to healing
09:29 — Identity, familiarity, and the man at Bethesda
11:22 — “I have no one to help me”
13:49 — Healing is risky
16:44 — Pain, identity, and the cost of change
18:42 — Victim and hero identities
19:54 — Forgiveness and holding onto hurt
22:43 — The question must be asked repeatedly
25:05 — Why self-checking can become unhealthy
27:44 — Intimacy with God vs. endless striving
31:36 — Transformation does not erase personality
34:45 — What freedom feels like on the other side
37:16 — “Stop sinning” and the danger of going backward
40:55 — Compassion for people in addiction
44:09 — Why wanting to get well is not enough on its own

Takeaway

Healing is not merely about breaking bad habits; it’s about becoming willing to let God lead you into a freer, truer identity. The question is not just whether you can change, but whether you want to surrender to the process of being made well.

In this episode, Alex Tarasiuk discusses the intricate relationship between heart issues, sin, and transformational change with Steve Smith. They explore how understanding our motivational sins can lead to genuine intimacy with God, affecting both personal and church-wide transformation.

Key Topics:

• The development of the Sin in Me inventory and its purpose in revealing internal motivations
• The seven motivational sins influenced by epithumius, or corrupted desires
• How motivational sins manifest through specific behaviors and their connection to hurt and internal struggles
• The importance of self-awareness in recognizing sin patterns and the role of the inventory in this process
• The difference between external symptoms and internal heart motivations
• The significance of surrendering sins to God and pursuing intimacy with Him for true change
• The impact of pride, false humility, and the recognition of different sins over time
• The role of repentance, honesty, and spiritual rescue in healing patterns of destructive behavior
• How the inventory can expose the roots of sinful behavior but must be used carefully and with guidance
• The ongoing process of transformation through the Spirit, not a one-time event
• The universal nature of sin across cultures and its effect on our capacity to love and receive love

Resources:

• Books by Steve Smith

• Church Equippers - Downloadables

Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction to transformational change and the heart chart00:31 - Overview of inventories and Steve Smith's sin inventory development01:09 - The reason for writing books and spirituality origins02:14 - How personal stories influence transformational frameworks03:04 - Understanding why we need transformation through biblical foundations03:51 - The role of choices and intimacy with God in healing04:33 - Revising and expanding on related books: marriage and counseling05:44 - Deepening the theology of covenant and biblical counseling07:10 - Transforming church culture through biblical principles09:38 - The significance of the Motivational Sin Inventory10:26 - Exploring the seven motivational sins and their roots11:27 - The importance of personal grasp of heart issues12:41 - Critique of external sin tests and internal desires13:07 - The prayerful process behind developing reflections of internal motives14:36 - Universal behaviors associated with each motivational sin15:23 - Recognizing the accumulative nature of behaviors and sins16:13 - How self-protection impacts honesty during inventory reflection17:17 - The role of pride and false humility in concealing sin18:48 - The contrast between true repentance and false humility19:48 - The purpose of the inventory in leading to genuine change20:52 - The emotional impact of seeing sins reflected back22:15 - The spiritual responsibility in addressing sins like sloth23:26 - Sloth as a decision to avoid responsibility and its link to depression24:14 - The impact of sloth on mental health and spiritual health25:57 - Connections between hurt, sin, and specific sins like sloth27:43 - How early role models influence motivational sins30:00 - Risks of giving the inventory without proper guidance32:23 - The importance of community and spiritual guidance after reflection36:18 - The deceit of pride and how it often is hidden or disguised39:04 - The potential for change when sins are addressed honestly41:20 - How pursuing intimacy with God leads to natural healing43:17 - The reality of ongoing struggles and the Spirit’s power for true freedom45:33 - The gospel’s role in transforming motivation and ability to love46:34 - Humanity’s resistance to true altruism and the effects of the fall49:11 - Next steps: deepening understanding of sin, hurt, and spiritual growth

Explore the complex relationship between internal desires, sins, and hurt, and how understanding these elements can lead to genuine transformation in the Christian life. This episode dives into biblical perspectives on human nature, the roots of sin, and pathways toward healing.In this episode:

• The biblical framework of sin in Romans chapter 7 and its relevance today
• How desires, even good ones, become corrupted through the fall
• The seven deadly sins as motivations behind external behaviors
• The internal versus external aspects of sin and suffering
• The role of guilt, shame, and generational patterns in shaping behavior
• The distinction between hurt caused by life’s circumstances and the sin we choose
• How aging and ongoing wounds affect our battle with sin
• The importance of grace and the Spirit’s power in our ongoing sanctification

• Larry Crabbe, Inside Out
• Romans 7

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction to the deep topics of human change and sin in the heart
02:13 - Paul’s insights in Romans 7 on sin living within us
04:43 - The effects of the fall on human desires and the internal nature of sin
06:02 - The biblical view of anger and justice—sinful vs. justified anger
08:23 - The concept of the seven deadly sins as motivators, not just external acts
10:14 - How desires like greed and lust are corrupted but naturally part of us
12:06 - The emotional relief sought through sinful behaviors
13:39 - The graphic analogy of sins as primary colors combining into complex patterns
15:05 - The influence of personal experiences and trauma on sin choices
16:07 - The identity formed through sin and its relation to shame and unmet needs
17:13 - How older youth and adults carry unresolved wounds into sinful behaviors
18:24 - The challenge of just "stopping" sin without addressing underlying desires
20:28 - Connecting past trauma, unresolved pain, and present sinful choices
22:31 - The danger of hypocrisy in condemning others while hiding our own sin
25:27 - The idea of generational patterns of sin and how they are modeled
27:50 - Wholeness in Christ as our ultimate goal, and the ongoing process of sanctification
32:00 - Why sin isn't always rooted in pain or hurt—some acts stem from desire alone
34:20 - The ongoing reality of wounds in a fallen world and our need for continual surrender
36:44 - The unity of hurt and sin as deeply intertwined aspects of the human condition
38:19 - The limitations of confession and the importance of grace in overcoming sin
41:55 - Preview of next topics: addiction, stress, and their effects on our spiritual walk