Abstract

This article presents the concept of being Born-again as the essential element of Christian faith, as understood by the Pentecostal community. Referring to the holiness roots and doctrine of Pentecostalism, the author discusses the essence of spiritual rebirth as well as the process by which it occurs as being the initial, central, and critical experience of a person receiving God’s salvation. In the Pentecostal perspective, spiritual rebirth is a gift from God and the person performing it is the Holy Spirit. The act of rebirth is preceded by repentance (regret and turning from sin) and personal faith as Christ redeems the individual. Spiritual rebirth is the awaking of a person to new life spiritually and the impartation of a new spiritual nature, a portion of the Divine nature of God. Through the act of rebirth, the Holy Spirit begins to dwell within the individual. For Pentecostals, being Born-again is an absolute necessity – without which one cannot be saved. It is the beginning of new spiritual life which then develops through the process of sanctification, a process which occurs thanks to the efforts of both the Borg-again individual and the Holy Spirit. A Born-again person who again falls into sin but does not repent and turn from that sin can lose the new life which has been received from God.