It is my understanding that the Doctrine of Perseverance will not have a true believer leaving the faith and never returning. If one does leave, it may be that they were never “of us”...but just “among us”.
But actually i think you are right, i don,t think they have lived long enough for God to put that much responsibility on them even if they were chosen before the foundation of the world, Jesus was close to 30 before he started his ministry and we know he was chosen.
Doctrine of Perseverance teaches that those people who die Saved were members of the Elect.
Once Saved Always Saved teaches that your state at death is irrelevant to whether you go to Heaven. if you had a Salvation experience, you go to Heaven.
Agree. I'm reminded of the age requirement of the Israel children to NOT be held accountable for the sin of idolatry and thus were allowed to enter the promised land after the 40 years.
There is a time in every one of our kids lives when they have to move beyond "this is what mommy and daddy think" and test those beliefs and take ownership of what they will call truth in their particular worldview. We think they may be rebelling but they are seeking to establish their own rules of life.
If you haven't listened to Paul Washer on testing yourself to see if one is in the faith then I highly recommend it. Every Youth Leader should show this to their group.