1: Do you guys ever interact with protestants and talk to them about the faith?
And
2: If so, how do you guys *explain* these things *to them*?
They are indeed "hard nuts to crack". They have a stripped-down, simplified variation on Christianity, it meets all their needs (as they perceive them), and it answers all their questions. You are basically asking them to abandon something simple, something that works for them, and to move towards something more complicated, that addresses spiritual deficiencies in themselves, that they don't even perceive themselves as having. Keep in mind, too, that they gravitate towards whatever flavor of pseudo-Christianity strikes their fancy --- they begin by considering "what they themselves believe", and then find a church that fits this. I have
never known of a Protestant who, when faced with a potential choice of
"do I do what I want to do, or are there some things that can't be done, no matter how strong the desire or how pressing the need?", doesn't find a way to ratify their desired behavior. If there is a "hard case", it gets settled in their favor. Case in point, divorce and remarriage. I have never known of a Protestant who said
"I'm divorced, but I can't remarry, because divorce only settles civil issues, and I am still married to this spouse, no matter what, not even if they've 'married' someone else". Contraception is another example --- the "technology" came into being, it was fairly easy to use, it satisfied the urge for sex on demand without consequences, so presto, it "became" okay, the shiny new thing that all the other kids on the block had, so to speak, so why can't I have it too?
And one very important thing: in the view of many Protestants, "sin isn't really real". They are huge on moral rectitude and "respectability", especially where it involves sins that other people would find out about, but when the bullet hits the bone, hey, it's a sin, but if it's something no one will ever know about if I don't tell them, well, if I fall into that sin, it's not so bad. Only God and I will ever know about it, and He'll forgive me, so
no problemo. Besides, Jesus took care of all sin on the Cross, and I can just transfer the guilt over to Him, and go on my merry way. As long as everyone can look and act respectable on Sunday mornings, that's pretty much all that matters.
It's a pretty seductive little package, and it's difficult to get people away from it, once they've embraced it... to deceive, if possible, even the elect.