re: How is it possible that some Protestant churches support gay marriage?

So to hell with everyone else who isn’t Christian? Even if they are good people? And are all Christians saved or just Calvinists?

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I can’t believe that God made some souls knowing that they were destined to fail and some knowing that they are destined for salvation. That’s awful.

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First of all, that is the case. Read Romans 9, especially verse 14 through the end of the chapter. Paul anticipates that sort of response by saying "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?".

His answer? God is sovereign and can do as He pleases and we are in no position to question Him.

However, Paul does say that God's glory is magnified by His choosing some people to show mercy to.

I find it so odd how so many people will fight to the death over man's autonomy and freedom but don't give much thought to God's autonomy over His own creation and freedom to choose as He will.

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And if that’s the case, why should any of us try to be good if our destiny is sealed?

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For one, we are commanded to by our creator. We are created to worship our creator and to give Him glory.

For another, we don't know who the elect are, which is why the offer of the gospel is freely given to all men without distinction. God knows who are His, and He will save whom He will. That's not for us to know, but we are supposed to obey and preach the good news indiscriminately.

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So to hell with everyone else who isn’t Christian?

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Um.. they will go to Hell if they don't trust in Christ for their salvation, but it sounds like you're not asking that. I suppose you are asking if we just shouldn't care about them.

If that's the case, I would say that we should care about them. All people are made in the image of God and we should love all people for that reason alone. However, we are also commanded to love all people and to preach the gospel to all people as the means of salvation that God uses. And since we don't know who the elect of God are, we are to preach to all men, women, and children equally.

So no, we shouldn't have a dismissive attitude towards the rest of the world. We should love them and seek their conversion so that they will have eternal life.

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Even if they are good people?

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"None is righteous, no, not one". Read Romans 3 on this part.

There are no "good people" because goodness is judged according to God's word, and those who do "good" works apart from faith are still sinning (Rom. 14:23).

Again, no one is saved by the works of the law (doing good works), so that's why we are commanded by Christ to preach the gospel throughout the world, because faith comes by hearing, and Christ is the only way to the Father.

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And are all Christians saved or just Calvinists?

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Anyone who repents of their sins and trusts in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone by faith will be saved. Calvinism is about clarity of the gospel, not the gospel, itself. There will be many Calvinists in Hell and many Arminians in Heaven.

What about people who live in remote parts of the world who have never heard of Jesus Christ or the Bible? They are predetermined to be damned?

You keep citing scripture but scripture is very vague and ambiguous sometimes. How do you know you are interpreting correctly all the time without the assistance of a spiritual father?

But if anyone who repents their sins is saved that means we have control over the outcome and everything is not predetermined.

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But if we are predestined to be saved or not to be saved it doesn’t matter whether we know we are saved or not because there is nothing we can do to change our situation.

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The promise of salvation is given to every person who repents and believes in Christ. Just because not everyone wants to (because they can't--they haven't been or won't be born again) doesn't mean that the promise isn't true. We don't know who is saved, so we are to commanded to respond to the call to repentance and faith for salvation. If we don't before we die, that is because we weren't predestined to salvation. If we do, it's because we were. That's touching on the secret will of God, though, and no one knows who is elected and who isn't but God. That, again, is why we are to preach the gospel to everyone. It's our duty to preach and God will do with that preaching whatever most glorifies Himself.

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We still have no incentive to be good, even if God has commanded it of us.

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Sure we do. The Bible speaks of better and worse estates in Heaven and Hell. It would be better for an unbeliever to be as obedient to God as possible in this life because it means it will be better for him in death. That's quite the incentive.

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If I disobey his commandment to be good I am already either saved or not saved regardless.

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God is a God of means as well as ends. It's why Calvinism is a logically coherent (not to mention biblical) system, because it highlights the monergistic nature of salvation where God remains sovereign in all things while man remains responsible for his actions.

Whether anyone is saved or not, we all should be seeking to honor God as God and submit to Christ as King and Lord through obedience because it is our duty as image-bearers of God.

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What about people who live in remote parts of the world who have never heard of Jesus Christ or the Bible? They are predetermined to be damned?

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Yes. Paul again in Romans 1 and 2 goes through this.

If you want to believe in universalism, then why are you a Christian? If salvation exists apart from Christ, then why did Christ die for sin? And if He paid for all sins of all people without the need for faith in Him, why should we preach the gospel to anyone? Why not remain silent and let people die in their ignorance and guarantee their salvation?

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You keep citing scripture

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Yes, and it seems I'm the only one doing that in this conversation.

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but scripture is very vague and ambiguous sometimes. How do you know you are interpreting correctly all the time without the assistance of a spiritual father?

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First of all, the Scriptures are plain and clear enough to be saved. Second, there are some difficult passages, which is why we should study the Scriptures as a whole to understand them. The less clear are interpreted by the clear, and the harder by the easier. It's why there are a lot of words in the Bible. We should make good use of them.

I also do have assistance of spiritual fathers. There are fathers in my denomination and outside of it. There are also spiritual fathers who have been blessed with much insight and wisdom for the past 2,000 years that I can look to for clarity.

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How do you know you are interpreting correctly all the time without the assistance of a spiritual father?

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I believe the most straightforward interpretation makes the most sense. It doesn’t seem likely that God would leave us an instruction manual and then make it difficult to understand. I’ve never enjoyed sermons that pull isolated verses from different parts of the Bible to make vague or unclear points, especially when those points seem out of context. I don’t think you need specialized education or training to understand what scripture says. That’s why I prefer sermons that walk through a passage, explaining it clearly and using other parts of scripture to support and reinforce it, just like you would do in a simple, direct reading.

I suspect I’m the Protestant here that probably agrees with your beliefs 95% of the time, hence why I’m curious what Greek Orthodox believe outside of sola scriptura.

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1 John seems to have been written to provide us assurance of faith. Perhaps you should read that book and let me know if you have any further questions

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You didn't answer my question. If everything is predetermined, how do you know that you're one of the elect?

Citing a book in the Bible doesn't answer the question because the underlying question based on your worldview would be how are you certain you aren't predestined to interpret Scripture incorrectly?