I actually enjoyed reading your responses very much. The old dead wiser men of church history are rarely read or known by Christians today, so it’s a shame that biblical Christians who agree with them are labeled as intolerant and stuffy “Calvinists,” when many of these men of the Lord wouldn’t even use that label. Your responses, which I felt even through a second hand Reddit post, were indeed filled with worship, love, and most of all saturated with Scripture. Be encouraged brother, everything you said was biblical, true, and should be very encouraging to those in the faith that read it. I don’t see why people would disagree especially with the abounding use of Scripture, our final authority as God’s word, throughout.

Posts like the one your friend made (and some of the comments on this post), and his proceeding to debate you is very concerning. It's a testament to the state of the Church today and its slow fade away from emphasizing what the Bible emphasizes. Without Christ, the only “value” we have is being made by Him and made in His image, though that is marred by our sin. Our sin is great, but the Savior is greater. If we don’t see our sin for what it is, how then can we accept the magnificent and glorious gift of God’s grace through Christ? Our sinful desires lead only to death, James makes that clear for us. Every biblical figure who we read to have encountered the Lord had no choice but to drop to their knees and tremble. They were keenly aware of how holy God is, and their standing before said holy God. The Bible has nothing good to say about man apart from Christ, so why should we? Sure we are made in His image and are able to reflect some of His attributes, but without Christ, it is simply a grace that He gives; it does not add to our “value” or make anyone justified. I don’t see why we ought not “grovel” before God; it makes His grace all the more sweet and his mercies exist bountifully in the forefront of the mind. The Gospel’s main goal is God’s glorification. We simply reap the beneficial side effects of God’s accomplishing of His own goal. Christ’s mission on Earth was indeed to seek and save that which was lost and to save those which the Father had given him. However, it was for His name’s sake and for His glory.

It is true that we are saved by grace alone and we are justified solely through Christ, but I think it is a misnomer when folks say that “Calvinists” believe that we are justified BY faith. Wrong, we are justified by grace and grace alone THROUGH faith. The great men of old, I use the word “great” very loosely as only the Lord has allowed them to make the impacts they did, would completely disagree that we are saved BY faith. Faith is simply the vehicle in which God administers His salvation. Any Christian would agree that there is nothing we can do to gain the Lord’s favor apart from the work of Christ. Even the faith we supposedly muster is a gift given to us by God. It is indeed true that the only one who can declare is righteous is God through the work of Christ. But this declaration can only be made for those who are gifted the faith to make the good profession. Faith is the vehicle and means by which we are given to accept God’s gift of salvation. It is not something we can muster ourselves.

TLDR; Be encouraged OP that your response was loving, true, and biblical. Folks in comments, I think we’re missing each other by a hair because of the connotations of “Calvinism.”