Who is holding you back?

 

What is the message of the church?  

To proclaim the Gospel of Christ to all nations!

 Romans 1:16-17 (KJV) What is this Gospel?

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
¹⁷ For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

This word  Gospel is a radical term in the world today!  
Prior to and outside the Bible there are (2) two examples of this Greek word euggelion  translated gospel being used in Greek Literature today!

Since it is a superlative; it actually means much more than the general " Good News ".
It means " Too good to be true news " or " Glad tidings. "  
Because before Yeshua - Jesus came in the flesh - there was nothing too good to be true, as word was hardly ever used!  
When the life and mission of Christ came;  it started to used to refer to all that He  preached and taught -
 i.e. The Word of God or The Absolute Truth!!

Jesus came to preach and teach the " Good News ": Because God is not judging people or even angry any more, He is not even a little bit mad!

Let's look at the Gospel of Christ:

- God had extended  both Mercy and Grace in which is what Jesus displayed; because the way Jesus loved people so unconditionally that both were absolutely  too good to be True! 

The Jews of Christ time were very religious - meaning they have many mainly man made rules and regulations....  Religions are the desire of mankind to recognize a superior being or make themselves feel that they can live a holy and / or a better life!  Which is for the most part not possible!

Reading Romans 1:16 - 17:
 The world sees the word " Gospel " or the it is too good to be true news of God's unconditional love {that is the power of God to change people's lives}  causes the religious folks a lot of confusion. Many do not understand how God is so good and that He really loves You!   
 
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ—

 This text is best illustrated by Isaiah 28:16; 49:23, quoted by the apostle, Romans 10:11: For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him, shall not be ashamed; i.e. they shall neither be confounded, nor disappointed of their hope. The Jews, by not believing on Jesus Christ, by not receiving him as the promised Messiah, but trusting in others, have been disappointed, ashamed, and confounded, from that time to the present day. Their expectation is cut off; and, while rejecting Christ, and expecting another Messiah, they have continued under the displeasure of God, and are ashamed of their confidence.

On the other hand, those who have believed on Christ have, in and through him, all the blessings of which the prophets spoke; every promise of God being yea and amen through him. Paul, as a Jew, believed on Christ Jesus; and in believing he had life through his name; through him he enjoyed an abundance of grace; so that, being filled with that happiness which an indwelling Christ produces, he could cheerfully say, I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. And why?

 Because he felt it to be the power of God to the salvation of his believing soul. This appears to be the true sense of this passage, and this interpretation acquires additional strength from the consideration that St. Paul is here most evidently addressing himself to the Jews.

It is the power of God unto salvation—δυναμις γαρ θεου εστιν· The almighty power of God accompanies this preaching to the souls of them that believe; and the consequence is, they are saved; and what but the power of God can save a fallen, sinful soul?

To the Jew first—Not only the Jews have the first offer of this Gospel, but they have the greatest need of it; being so deeply fallen, and having sinned against such glorious privileges, they are much more culpable than the Gentiles, who never had the light of a Divine revelation.

And also to the Greek—Though the salvation of God has hitherto been apparently confined to the Jewish people, yet it shall be so no longer, for the Gospel of Christ is sent to the Gentiles as well as the Jews; God having put no difference between them; and Jesus Christ having tasted death for Every man.

Adam Clarke's Commentary.

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Contribution of the Passage to Discipleship and Church Mission

We must keep the response to the gospel centered on genuine faith and we must never forget that it is the gospel of God that is powerful to save, not our evangelistic methods nor our abilities to package the gospel in ways a non-believer can understand (as important as these things are, cf. 1 Cor 9:19-23). 

God can make fools of us in the twinkling of an eye if we start to rely on anything other than him in the preaching of the gospel.

The real message is that the " good news " of Christ, is about how the power of God draws people together in droves through the Atonement of Christ - which in turn provides everything you will ever need for abundant eternal life - both here and in Heaven has already been provided!     

All you must do is believe it and then accept it to receive  
" The Gospel: The Power of God."

This is the true message of the Gospel of Christ which is to give to provide all people the option to believe and accept to then come to live an Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God forever!