A framework for reading scripture
with the goal of hearing God’s voice and letting Him guide our lives.
The SIDL concept, acronym and descriptions are (c) Marc Schelske, 1994 and are used here with permission.
Summary
SIDL is an acronym that describes a framework for reading and meditating on scripture. This framework seeks to create space for you to meditate on scripture, actively hearing from the Holy Spirit with the accountability of the text itself. Four roles make up the process. Each of the roles gets at an important part of bible study, and yet each one taken alone is incomplete and potentially misleading. Taken together, the four roles provide a balanced reading with space to hear the active and living voice of God in scripture.
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S
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Student
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What did this text day to its original audience?
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I
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Interpreter
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How does the message of this text translate into my culture and circumstances?
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D
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Disciple
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What is the text asking of me practically?
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L
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Lover
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As I reflect on the text, what is God saying to me now?
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Why Four Roles?
These roles represent four different ways of reading scripture. Each of them have their strengths and pitfalls. Different personalities and temperaments relate to them differently. Using one role alone tends to lead to an imbalanced view of scripture. For example, the student role on its own leads to a very academic reading of the Bible, focused on history and context, but can easily leave out the mystical element of the Holy Spirit’s current voice. The Lover role by itself leads to a very devotional reading, emphasizing the nearness of God and an intimate relationship, but this reading can easily ignore issues of context and content and end up with subjective and even unbiblical conclusions.
Additionally, we tend to relate more strongly to one of the roles. This role is the one we are most naturally inclined toward and that we most easily find meaning in. This is a strength, not a weakness. God has wired us each in a specific way and fully expects to relate to us in ways that correspond to that wiring. You should maximize the role that seems to connect most closely with who God has made you to be. However, using all four roles will provide the best opportunity for understanding of scripture that has balanced integrity. Like a balanced diet, using all four roles makes sure we get the range of nutrition that we need from our time in scripture.
How do I do it?
The SIDL framework is flexible enough that it can be meaningfully used in nearly any situation. A morning devotion focusing on a verse or two of scripture or an in-depth Bible study of an entire book done over months would both benefit from this process. It can be done very simply in just a few minutes, or it can be done with extensive study helps and reference materials and fill a long period of study and meditation. Once you know the framework and understand the tools, you can use it to strengthen your understanding of scripture in any context.
The basic idea is this: Read the passage of scripture - a single verse, a paragraph, a chapter or a whole book—several times. Starting with the first role, read the passage from that perspective, applying the necessary tools of that role. When that’s done, move on to the next role. In each case, let the previous reading inform your current one. While this can be done quickly in your head, the ideal method would be to be able to record each step in a journal so that you can reflect on those results at a deeper level. In order to clearly explain this framework, we'll go step by step through an example using John 3:16-17, a very familiar passage of scripture:
John 316-17 NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Step 1 - Giving the Holy Spirit Access
The first step is not part of the SIDL acronym. If our goal is to hear God’s voice and to let Him change us, then we must start by giving Him permission to speak to us and have access to our hearts. Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit as a teacher (John 14:26) who would lead us into all truth. Each time you open your Bible, begin with a short prayer that invites the Holy Spirit to teach you and enlighten you. In general, God does not go where He is not invited, so invite Him to have access to your heart and mind. This is a critical step. The words of the Bible have no power in themselves. The power of the Living Word comes from the Holy Spirit. Reading the Bible alone has no ability to bring us closer to God or change our hearts. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to do that.
I Corinthians 2:14 NIV “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Step 2- The Student
Having given the Holy Spirit permission to teach us, we begin the process. You start by reading the passage of scripture through and reflecting on it from the perspective of a student. The purpose of this role is to understand as best we can what the text of scripture meant to its original audience in their unique time, culture and circumstances.
The critical question for this role is: What did this text say to its original audience?
Why Does This Matter?
Most people are aware that the sixty-six different books of the Bible were written over a long period of time, by a widely different authors in different languages and that they wrote to people in various circumstances and with different backgrounds and cultures. Even knowing this, we often read the Bible as if this doesn’t matter. But it matters profoundly. While the authors of the scripture were inspired by God, they were also human beings using human language to communicate to other humans in particular circumstances. If we don’t understand these details we are very likely to read the scripture out of context and instead of taking out meaning that God intended, we are liable to bring in meaning from our own life and circumstances. Exegesis is the technical term for what we want to do. This means letting the text give us its own meaning. We listen to what the text has to say for itself and let that govern the meaning, instead of “reading into” the text a meaning which is alien to it. Eisagesis, on the other hand, is what we must avoid. This means bringing meaning into the text from the outside. This is the chief cause of poor interpretation of the Bible and bad theology.
How Do We Do This?
There are a wide range of tools that allow us to get as close as possible to the original meaning of the text. The basic issues we are trying to understand are these:
- Who was the human author?
- Who was their intended audience?
- What was the purpose the author had in mind in writing this passage?
- What cultural issues in the life of the author or audience might shed light on the meaning of the text?
At the simplest and quickest level this would mean reading the passage while paying attention to the immediate context in the verses around it, and referring to whatever basic background information is available in the introduction of the book or in your study Bible. In many cases this is sufficient. But the student role can easily expand to include the use of commentaries, Bible dictionaries, even original language resources. Once this required a large collection of expensive books, but today anyone with internet access can immediately reach many of these great tools at websites like these:
John 3:16-17 - Student Example
John 316-17 NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
By referring to the introduction of the Book of John in my study Bible I was able to find this information: The author of the book is John the disciple of Jesus. The book was written late in his life, well after Jesus’ earthly ministry had ended and after the beginning of the early Christian church. While the letter itself doesn’t identify any particular audience, it seems from the language that John was writing to people unfamiliar with the traditions of Judaism and the basics of Christianity.
By carefully reading the passage and the verses around it I was able to add this additional information: Jesus himself is speaking. He is speaking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and “member of the Jewish ruling council.” That means that Nicodemus was a very strict conservative Jew. Nicodemus had come to Jesus in the night to avoid being seen and asked Jesus if he was really from God. Jesus told him that to truly understand he would have to be born again. Nicodemus didn’t understand what this meant and so Jesus outlined the basics of His purpose and mission. In just a couple of minutes and without referring to any more detailed reference materials we have gathered enough information to get our process rolling:
- Jesus is speaking to a spiritual seeker. John, the author, seemed to be writing to seekers as well.
- Jesus is talking about the beginning of our spiritual journey and what it takes to start.
- Jesus is talking about His mission and how we can relate to Him.
- There don’t seem to be any large cultural issues (in the text, in the background of the author or the audience) that would need clearing up to fully understand the passage.
With this information and by reading the passage we can take a stab at answering the critical question of the student role: What did this text say to the original audience? Read through the passage line by line and see what message comes to the surface. Here's an example:
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For God so loved…
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God is a God who loves and loves enough to act.
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...so loved the world…
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God’s love is directed at the world and thus everyone in it. (Including me.)
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...that he gave his one and only Son…
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That love motivated God to act by giving something very special, His Son. That gift is significant to our spiritual circumstances.
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...that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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Our belief in this Son of God gives us access to eternal life and means we won’t perish. Also this gift is available to anyone, “whoever.”
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...For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world…
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God’s primary purpose toward us is not judgmental and condemning. He sent His son for a different purpose.
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...But to save the world through him.
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That purpose is to rescue the world from it’s spiritual condition. That salvation comes through this Son who was sent.
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So you could summarize the message this way: God’s heart toward all people is one of love. That love motivated Him to send His Son as a means of rescuing them from their spiritual state. This rescue is available to anyone and is accessible by believing in the Son. God doesn’t see the world in a condemning way, but wants to rescue instead of judge.
Step 3 - The Interpreter
Having gathered the basic background material for the passage, and gotten a handle on the basic message of the text, we move on to the next part of the process. Now you read the passage of scripture, reflecting from the perspective of an interpreter. The purpose of this role is to transfer the original meaning of the text, as best we understand it, into our culture, time and circumstances.
The question that characterizes this role is: What does the message of this text say to my culture today?
Why Do This?
"I don’t want to Interpret the Bible, I just want to understand it." Most of us don’t desire to be ivory-tower interpreters of the Bible, but the problem with this statement is that it ignores the fact that every time we read the Bible we engage in the task of interpreting. Even when we are only using our language skills and common sense, we are interpreting. Because the Bible was written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek to a culture that no longer exists, we must bridge the original meaning into our culture today. Bridging doesn’t mean changing. It just means discerning between the message that is timeless and universal and anything in the passage that is strictly cultural.
How Do We Do This?
This is also an area that we can turn to Bible scholars and commentaries for guidance, but in many cases this is not
necessary. We’re simply trying to identify what transfers into our world. Looking back at the background material that we have gathered and the basic message we have identified we are ready to do some basic interpretation. First we bring it into our own culture and then we personalize it and bring it into our own world.
John 3:16-17 - Interpreter Example
John 316-17 NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Jesus is speaking to a spiritual seeker. John the author seemed to be writing to seekers as well. We live in a world that is full of spiritual seekers, more than ever before. While we don’t have Pharisees anymore, we do have people that have extensive religious backgrounds and also believe that a rigorous and legalist application of their religion pleases God. This passage applies to any of us who are seeking God and may have particular relevance to any of us with legalistic
or religious backgrounds.
Jesus is talking about the beginning of our spiritual journey and what it takes to start. We still all have to begin our spiritual journeys. The instructions in this passage still give us the path into a new relationship with God.
Jesus is talking about His mission and how we can relate to Him. His mission is still the same and we can expect Him to relate to us in this same way.
There don’t seem to be any immediate cultural issues (in the text, in the background of the author or the audience) that would need clearing up to fully understand the passage. That means there’s no complicated bridging that we have to do.
The message of the passage seems pretty timeless and doesn’t really need any special interpretation into our world and culture: God’s heart toward all people is one of love. That love motivated Him to send His Son as a means of rescuing them from their spiritual state. This rescue is available to anyone and is accessible by believing in the Son. God doesn’t see the world in a condemning way, but wants to rescue instead of judge. I can, however, translate it into more personal language that bridges the gap between an abstract passage of scripture and something that speaks directly to me. Something like this:
God’s heart toward ME is one of love. His love for ME motivated Him to send His Son as a means of rescuing ME. This rescue is a gift and is available to me when I believe in the Son. God doesn’t see me with condemning eyes, but instead wants to rescue me.
Step 4 - The Disciple
The first two roles have to do with establishing the meaning of the text itself. The next two roles have to do bringing that meaning into our lives in a practical way. This is where we begin to let the passage and its meaning guide our meditation. The background material and the passage create the context for our meditation, but now we let the Holy Spirit use the text to move our hearts. The Disciple role is about applying this message in a practical way to our lives. In this step we read the passage one more time, but this time we are looking for instructions or guidance for living. The purpose of this role is to understand an implement the moral, ethical and spiritual truth of the passage in our lives.
The question that characterizes this role is: What is the text asking of me?
Why Is this role third? Shouldn’t it be first?
We are to obey scripture. That is a simple fact of the life of a Christian. For that reason the Disciple role is a very important one. But it is possible when reading scripture to come across something that seems like an instruction to be obeyed that in fact is not, or perhaps was an instruction for a specific time and place and no longer holds, or perhaps ought to be applied in a different way. Sometimes this is obvious and we make the distinction clearly. For example, see Joshua 11:6. We don’t rush out to hamstring horses because we understand that this instruction of God’s was to a particular person in a particular place. Sometimes this distinction is not so clear. For example, there is ongoing controversy over Paul's instructions regarding women in leadership. Thus before we step out to obey scripture, it is important that we understand the meaning of it. This is why the Student and Interpreter role come first. However, understanding is not sufficient. Once we understand, we are called to obey.
How Do We Do This?
We read through the passage, with the background material and meaning in mind, looking for commands, principles, and examples that seem clearly to apply to us. I often express these in terms of questions raised by the text. These could be about matters of lifestyle and choices. They could be about matters of belief and theology. They could encompass any part of our life. Simply read though the passage letting these questions surface. Some will seem not to apply to you at the time. Others will be directly aimed at your life circumstance.
John 3:16-17 - Disciple Example
John 316-17 NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
- Do I see God as loving? My basic view of God will effect so much of my daily life, not to mention my theology and spiritual life. This passage clearly teaches that God is loving in an overwhelming way.
- Do I recognize that God loves the whole world? God’s love was not limited to a small group of special people, but encompasses all people. Is my heart loving in this way? Is there someone in my life who am living in a less than loving way toward?
- Do I accept that Jesus is the one and only Son of God? This passage is clearly teaching the divinity of Jesus. As I read it I have to wrestle with my own understanding of this powerful piece of theology. Do I believe that Jesus is divine?
- Do I know that this rescue is available to me (and others) through belief in the Son? The passage says “whoever.” That means anyone. It also says that this leads to eternal life. The question that follows on the heals of this one is: Have I accepted this gift and received eternal life?
- Do I see God as condemning (of me or of others)? This passage demonstrates that God’s purpose is not to condemn, but to rescue. If I feel condemnation and excessive guilt, even after forgiveness, that is not from God. If I am condemning of others and refuse to give forgiveness, I am not living in the spirit of God.
- Have I accepted that this rescue comes through the Son? Jesus says in this passage that the rescue that God wants to initiate comes through the Son. Is the Son the center of my spiritual experience?
As I meditate on these questions (and any others that come up), I have an opportunity to bring my life into alignment with God’s Word. These questions may move me to prayer. They may prompt me to make some change in my life. They may challenge me to consider some new truth. At this point the Holy Spirit has free reign to be stirring your heart and to use these questions to guide and challenge you. As you move more deeply into this process, this is where you begin to really enter into God-focused meditation.
Step 5 - The Lover
This final role is wide open. Having moved through the meaning of the text and evaluated what the text is asking of me, I am now thinking in response to God’s action in my heart. At this point I may be moved to meditative prayer. I may journal my response to the text back to God. I may even have a clear sense of God speaking to me through the text. In this role we want to listen closely for what God is saying to us right now—not only to the original audience of the text, not only to people in general, but to me in my particular circumstances. Here the Holy Spirit should be doing all the directing. The purpose of this role is to hear what God may be saying, directly to me—in my circumstances—through this text about me, about Him and about our relationship.
The question that characterizes this role is: Reflecting on this text, what is God saying to me right now?
Is this even Bible Study?
Not really. At this point we’ve moved beyond study and into meditation and worship. We may be praying or we may simply be in a time of reflection about our lives and relationship with God. But the key is that this didn’t happen in a vacuum. It happened in
the context of a particular passage of scripture, informed by the meaning of that passage, and guided by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Worship and prayer on their own are always good, but when worship and prayer are guided by the living word of God, we really have the potential to go deep into what God has for us. This is because the guiding content isn’t generated by our hearts, our needs, or our perception of the situation. The guiding content is from God himself and as we submit our mind to God’s word, He leads us into places we might never go ourselves.
So How Do We Do This?
This is the step of the process that has the fewest directions. That is simply because the Holy Spirit should be guiding the process at this point. Sometimes at this point in the process I am simply moved to prayer. I pray about the things that have come to my mind as I’ve meditated on the scripture. I pray for help to deal with the life issues that have surfaced. I pray for people that have come to mind. Sometimes I journal through these prayers. If I have any sense at all that God has either spoken to me or given me clear guidance with scripture I respond back to Him about that. This response phase of the process could happen in whatever way the Holy Spirit guides you. Most frequently I spend some time journaling my prayers reacting to the passage.
I’ll give you an example below of what I did with this passage. This is not meant to be the only way for you to work through this step, only an example of one way that I have done it.
John 3:16-17 - Lover Example
John 316-17 NIV "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
In response to this process, I journaled this prayer:
Dear Father, first I want to thank You for loving me so much that You would sacrifice like You did to bring me to You. That thought alone is overwhelming to me. That I would be worth the gift of Your Son! I can’t even begin to get my brain around it. And then, to understand that you have that much love not only for me, but for everyone in the world—everyone who has ever lived! That’s amazing. Thank You for this gift and for Your huge generous love.
I ask that You would form that kind of love in me, love that’s generous and willing to sacrifice, love that serves and gives. It’s easy for me to disregard others, but I want to be more like You in this. Help me to love like You do. Help me to see the people around me with the love that You have. You saw this broken world with such love that You gave everything to rescue us. Help me to love like that. When I see the brokenness around me, when I see the lives around me, help me to have that kind of love.
Thank You so much that I now have eternal life. Thank You that my future is secure with You and that I don’t have to face eternal separation from You. This is am amazing gift and I’m so certain of my unworthiness. Thanks for seeing past that and reaching to me anyway. Help me to cherish my relationship with You and to have the internal motivation to share this with others. There are so many who are perishing. Help me be an avenue of your love and grace to them so that they too can experience the gift of relationship with You.
Finally Father, thank You so much—so very much—that Your eyes don’t look at us with condemnation. Thank you that your heart is about saving us, rescuing us. When I face the world around me which is so full of spite and condemnation, it lifts me and moves me forward to know that you aren’t condemning me. Help me to live in the daily understanding of this truth. Help me also to help others come out from under the cloud of condemnation. They need to know how much You love. They need to know how much they are valued. Give me words, give me passion, give me courage to be an avenue of this gift to those around me.
Thank you that even when I think I know it all and understand You—like Nicodemus—You patiently help me continue to grow. Don’t ever let me become content in my practice of religion. Keep me growing in a fresh natural relationship with You.
I love You and I worship for who You are and what You’ve done in my life! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
You will respond to God in whatever way seems best to you. Silent prayer, verbal prayer or journaling—even other expressions of worship like music or art might work well. Your expression may change based on how God speaks to you through the passage. You might have a sense of joy and thankfulness. You might need to take some quiet time of contemplation to consider a correction that God has whispered to you. You might need to actually go out and do something immediately—make a relationship right, offer someone forgiveness, take some step God has led you toward. Whatever the Holy Spirit leads you to do, make sure to do it.
Continuing on with the SIDL framework.
The first two roles tend to be the more objective ones. The second two tend to be the more subjective. This creates a great dynamic in your study. While the details that you uncover in the Student role might not change from time to time, the questions that come up during the Disciple role are very likely to target your life circumstance, Your Lover role will definitely be a personal reflection of your spiritual journey at the time. This means that each time you come back to a text, your experience will be different. That means the old excuse, “I already know this verse,” no longer stands in your way. While the text of scripture doesn’t change and its essential meaning stays the same, the way God guides you to experience that truth will change as your life and journey develop.
Permission is given for individuals to share this document informally.
Please do not publish in any method or media without the express permission of the author.
© 2004, Marc Schelske, All Rights Reserved. schelske@bridgecity.org
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