The more I’ve lived in this faith, the more it looks to me like a gracious God has put the onus of refusal utterly on humanity. The timing of the work of salvation “as seen in this mortal coil” does not come instantly upon the acceptance; that is why it is true when Paul says in Romans that it depends not on the man who wills or runs, but on the Lord who has mercy. The years of time are a miniature stage upon which the drama of the Lord’s work plays out and the work of mercy can be seen to have its fruit. I can certainly vouch for that from experience. But the “promise” does come instantly. That is consistent with Jesus’ “whosoever will.”
So what happens to those who die quickly and young who haven’t the time and experience to well consider salvation? What happens to the hoards of peoples who never have heard the Gospel? It has to be God who chooses for His own purposes as spelled out in Bible repeatedly. The dead cannot choose to live but must be revived by something outside of themselves. The carnal mind, which is all that an unregenerated soul has, is an enemy to God. People cannot understand nor accept that God has the right to choose to save for His purposes those whom He decides upon. All rightfully deserve to burn forever in hell, that some are pulled out of the fire doesn’t make it unjust that the rest burn forever. It is to the praise of the glory of His grace that by no effort of my own, not even my own choosing, that I will spend eternity in His glorious presence. Forever and ever I will never be able to claim any reason to boast of my own merits. It is all Him.