by Marc Dupont, May 2004
Well over a decade ago I came up with what I called “the 5 Dupontisms”. The 5 Dupontisms were a response to people who asked me for prophetic words that rarely sought the person of God for themselves. While I am a great believer in prophecy and inspired words of exhortation, etc. I believe God intends New Testament prophecy to supplement and/or to encourage one in one’s own priesthood. Our Lord Jesus gave His life in order to restore each of us into a priesthood- a relationship of intimacy with God.
The book of Romans is, most likely, the most important theological book of the New Testament. The heart of Romans, however, is chapter eight. One of the powerful insights the apostle Paul relates in this incredible chapter is found in verse fourteen. He states “all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”. This is an outstanding statement. Basically, Paul is saying it’s not those who give the most money, who pray the longest, or those who make the greatest sacrifices who are qualified to be called the sons of God. Rather it’s those who through the door of the cross, seek God’s face, and begin to emerge in a communicative relationship. In essence, like Jesus, who was led by the Spirit, we too, because of the forgiveness of sins, can walk in a relationship of intimacy with God .
Hence, the “5 Dupontisms” were a bit of a barbed, rhetorical response to those I sensed needed to press more into God themselves rather than simply looking to another for a vicarious word. The “5 Dupontisms” went like this:
- Read your Bible
- Give – time, energy, & money in service
- Go home- be focused on your own sphere of life
- Stop sinning
- Pray more
The truth be known, I never actually stated the 5 Dupontisms to anyone specifically. It would have been slightly too caustic and rude. During the last several years, however, I have changed the 5 Dupontisms to be more of a personal code of conduct for myself. I consider them a very simplified recipe for daily life. They are all Biblically based. In fact, they are an attempt to take the major principals of the Bible regarding focus and attitudes and shrink them down into an easy to remember set of guidelines. They now go like this:
- Worship God daily- both in actually worshiping Him at specific times, but also in doing all things with Him and for Him.
- Treat others with honor. Whether that person is important to me, or not, treat them as a being created by the Living God.
- Speak only words that are edifying.
- Allow my perspectives to be shaped by the things above, rather than accessing my situation by what I see and understand in the natural.
- Keep my eyes focused straight ahead. That is to say, know that God wants to bless me right where I’m at rather than dreaming of being in a different situation or set of circumstances.
While I am the first to admit that I do not fully practice the 5 Dupontisms, I have adopted Paul’s attitude of forgetting the past mistakes (after I’ve repented) and pressing on. Many of these practices have been basic keys in my life for years. As I have tried to live these, collectively for the last several years I have seen dramatic fruit, especially in relationships. That’s important because first and last, God is a God of relationships. So over the next 5 months I am going to take the “Notes of the Month” section and develop each of these 5 Dupontims a bit. My prayer is that it would encourage each of us in some specific area of our lives to become a bit more Christ like.
In Christ’s great love and grace,
Marc A. Dupont
