While discussing the matter of spiritual swindlers you may recall the place of the conscience in fighting our spiritual battles. Recall Paul’s admonition to his son Timothy repeated below:

So Timothy, my son, I am entrusting you with this responsibility, in keeping with the very first prophecies that were spoken over your life and are now in the process of fulfillment in this great work of ministry, in keeping with the prophecies spoken over you. With this encouragement use your prophecies as weapons as you wage spiritual warfare by faith and with a clean conscience. For there are many who reject these virtues and are now destitute of the true faith

You may wonder what exactly is the conscience? Psalms 32:8,9 gives us a hint:

I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!” So my conclusion is this: Many are the sorrows and frustrations of those who don’t come clean with God. But when you trust in the Lord for forgiveness, his wraparound love will surround you.

The conscience is the divine alarm system warning me of on-coming danger or the consequences of contemplated action. The primary purpose of the conscience is guidance and protection as the quoted Psalm illustrate. It is of utmost importance to understand the difference between following your heart – Jeremiah 17:9-10 (AMPC/NLT) – and allowing a clear conscience to help with decisions. The only way to know the difference is by asking yourself what the greatest influence on your morality is! Or put differently, what has the greatest impact on your belief system? The scriptures or the world’s standard of right and wrong?

Beloved if the world’s system of what is generally acceptable has infiltrated your heart, the conscience cannot be trusted, it is compromised.

But the [Holy] Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, Through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized). 1 Timothy 4:1,2 (AMPC)

I would invite you to a close study of 2 Timothy 2 & 3 (AMPC/TPT) from which the following extracts are taken:

Timothy, my dear son, live your life empowered by God’s free-flowing grace, which is your true strength, found in the anointing of Jesus and your union with him…But you, Timothy, must not see your life and ministry this way. Your life and ministry must not be disgraced, for you are to be a pure container of Christ and dedicated to the honorable purposes of your Master, prepared for every good work that he gives you to do. Run as fast as you can from all the ambitions and lusts of youth; and chase after all that is pure. Whatever builds up your faith and deepens your love must become your holy pursuit. And live in peace with all those who worship our Lord Jesus with pure hearts. 2 Timothy 2:1, 21-22 (TPT)

But you need to be aware that in the final days the culture of society will become extremely fierce. People will be self-centered lovers of themselves and obsessed with money. They will boast of great things as they strut around in their arrogant pride and mock all that is right. They will ignore their own families. They will be ungrateful and ungodly. They will become addicted to hateful and malicious slander. Slaves to their desires, they will be ferocious, belligerent haters of what is good and right. With brutal treachery, they will act without restraint, bigoted and wrapped in clouds of their conceit. They will find their delight in the pleasures of this world more than the pleasures of the loving God. They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these! For they are the ones who worm their way into the hearts of vulnerable women, spending the night with those who are captured by their lusts and steeped in sin. They are always learning but never discover the revelation-knowledge of truth...

But the evil men and sorcerers will progress from bad to worse, deceived and deceiving, as they lead people further from the truth. Yet you must continue to advance in strength with the truth wrapped around your heart, being assured by God that he’s the One who has truly taught you all these things. 2 Timothy 3:1-7,13-14 (TPT)

Oh, that you will see why a clean conscience is critical to winning this spiritual warfare. Let us draw upon that free flowing grace, our strength that comes from the anointing upon the Lord and our individual union with Him. We are required to win this battle. Selah.