Smashing Golden Calves

Why public discipleship must center on Christ, not modern substitutes

Christ and the Nations

Scripture presents humanity as families, tribes, and nations. Paul says God “made from one man every nation” and fixed their “periods and boundaries” (Acts 17:26). National life is providential, not a modern construct. “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). Peoples owe public allegiance to Christ.

Christ is “King of kings and Lord of lords,” with authority over all creation (1689 LBCF 8.1; Matthew 28:18). His rule is covenantal and concrete. He claims the nations, commands their discipling, and warns rulers to kiss the Son (Psalm 2). By public discipleship I mean this: law and custom should conform to Christ’s moral authority, while the church alone administers Word, sacrament, and discipline. Outward confession by rulers is right. Coerced religion is sin. The First Commandment may be honored in civil order as outward submission, while regeneration remains the Spirit’s work through the church. This essay clears the counterfeits that mimic Christendom’s corporate instinct yet deny its Christ‑centered power.

Christendom’s instinct was sound: nations should serve Christ. Its error was to confuse conversion with coercion. After 1789 to 1918, when Christian monarchies fell, the instinct fragmented and substitutes rushed in. What followed was a parade of golden calves: movements that mimic the shape of Christian order while refusing the Christ who gives it life.

Three of those modern golden calves are;