QUESTION:

Can a person be ‘Born Again’ more than once?

Answer:

The simple answer: No!  It is not possible.  We cannot be saved from our sins by the blood of Jesus twice.    When we have truly repented, made Jesus Lord of our lives and been baptized into Christ, we are saved.   It is possible to lose our salvation (Hebrews 6:4f, Hebrews 10:26f).  If we “fall away” in the sense described in Hebrews 6:4, then it is impossible to be renewed to repentance, and to be “born again” a second time.  This is what Hebrews 6 teaches.  2 Peter 2:22 says that those who are saved and later lost are worse off than at first.  They cannot be saved a second time.

Some are confused about this.  For example, some have been baptized–immersed in water, and realized later that they had never been disciples of Jesus before baptism.  Such people may choose to be baptized “again.”   Technically, in this case, they are really being baptized for the first time, and the previous ceremony was just getting wet.   Therefore such a person is not being baptized again.  The first one was an immersion, but not a biblical baptism.  Others have the false doctrine of “praying Jesus into your heart.”   Many have done the “sinner’s prayer” many times and are confused about which was the actual saving event.   This points out one of the problems with the pray-Jesus-into-your-heart doctrine, which is that it is very subjective.  How can one know if and when they were saved?

The simple answer to your question is this:  No, a person cannot be born again, again.

John Oakes