Thank you for question on Biblical semantics, “What is the difference between being saved and being born again?”
As I read and thought about this question is that the difference is one is more focus on salvation from sin and the other is more of entering the Kingdom of God.
A. Phrase of being born again.
In John 3, Jesus declared to Nicodemus that he must be born again to enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus was declaring Nicodemus not a physical birth to enter the physical Kingdom of God but a spiritual birth to enter the spiritual kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is both spiritual and physical.
The Jews were anticipating a physical kingdom to come, but Jesus said that the kingdom is a spiritual one and that one has to repent for the kingdom of God is near. To repent is to have a change of attitude or heart of one’s sin so that one is right with God/Messiah when he comes. It is referring to a spiritual birth to enter the Kingdom of God.
B. Phrase of Being Saved.
This particular phrase has the emphasis on redemption of sin. Sin has captivated/held in bondage whereby one is condemned for one’s evil action. To be saved is to be set free from that bondage of condemnation (Rom. 8:1). There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. To be saved is to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to kingdom of his beloved Son. It’s moving from being a slave to sin to become a child of God.
The New Testament associated being saved as the prerequisite to enter the Kingdom of God. The Apostle Peter said this in Acts 2, “38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” (NIV).
The phrase, being saved, shifted from the emphasis in preparation for the Kingdom of God to the emphasis on redemption from sin. There is an implied looking forward to the return of King and the Kingdom, but the focus was on repentance of sin and belief in Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice for their sins.
Perhaps one can also view it as being born again as the statement of the need of redemption to enter the Kingdom of God and being saved as the method of redemption by believing in Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for one’s sin to become a Kingdom person. Those are my thoughts and I hope it will spur you on to think more about it.
SUMMARY: Being born again is a statement of the necessity of spiritual birth to enter the Kingdom of God, while being saved is the statement of the method of spiritual birth by believing on the atoning work of Jesus to become a Kingdom person.
For more perspectives:
https://www.quora.com/Is-born-again-and-being-saved-the-same-thing