How many times must we be born again?

In a recent conversation I asked a gentleman if there had ever been a time in his life when he had invited Christ into his heart.  Oh yes, he replied, many times.

Lets back up to our physical birth.  How many times do our mothers give birth to us?  Count’em….one!  How many different dates do we have as birth dates?  Count’em again….one!  Why would being born again be any different?  When we are born physically, we have physical life.  When we are born again, we have spiritual life.

What kind of spiritual life does God give us?   “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  What kind of life?  Everlasting life.  Is that the same thing as eternal life?  Yes.  If it were to go away, would it be everlasting?  No, it would not be everlasting.

If we have invited the Lord Jesus into our heart, if we have received Him as our personal Saviour, He has given us power to become the sons of God (John 1:12), which means we have been born into God’s family.  If we have received eternal life by believing in Him, would we need to receive Him again?

Let me illustrate.  If we hold the door open to our house and invite someone in and they come in, wouldn’t it be silly to invite them in again after they are already in the house?  They would think we were nuts!  They would probably run away.  Why do we do that very thing to God?