Sadie Robertson Huff sat down with her mother, Korie Robertson, on her “Whoa that’s Good” podcast, and the two of them discussed sex, purity, and where the church goes wrong on the topic. During the February 20 episode, the two discussed the startling statistic that 80% of people learn about sex through peers or media. Speaking to Korie about the topic, Sadie said she was “glad that [Korie] told me that because I got to hear from my mom what sex is, what God’s design for sex is. A lot of people don’t have that conversation with their parents, don’t have that conversation with their pastor or with a mentor. It comes from a lot of other places.” She recalled having a discussion with her mother when she was 9 and watching “Dancing with the Stars,” where the word “sexy” was repeatedly used. When Sadie asked about the word, Korie took it as an opportunity to explain sex and God’s intentions for it. “[Sex is] always talked about, and it’s always out there. I just don’t think it’s talked about in such a way that’s really talking about what it’s meant to be and what it was designed to be because that’s become a controversial thing,” said Huff. 

Huff also discussed dangerous attitudes from the church that have brought shame to those who have had sex outside of God’s intended plan for marriage. Huff spoke candidly to her audience that may have fallen into sexual sin, saying, “If it’s up to the statistics that 95 percent of you have [had sex], so I just want to say that you are not exempt from the beauty of what this conversation is about to be because you’ve walked in sexual sin in your past or are currently walking through sexual sin. Today can be a day that everything changes that you begin to repent and walk toward the way that God has for you.” She noted that God’s plan for sex was male and female and that God created sex before sin and commanded Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply.” 

Korie noted that God’s design for sex was to reflect Christ’s union with the church, something the Devil strives to destroy. “No wonder the evil one wants to make sex feel dirty or wrong or shameful or perverted. Because he’s going directly after something that God set up to also illustrate what oneness in Christ looks like,” she said. She went on to remind listeners that God’s intention for sex in marriage is good. “The enemy does tell us… that sex means nothing—that it’s just like something you can do and forget about the next day. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean anything, and I think, deep down, we all know that’s not true. God does not give you a rule or a command to ruin your life. He gives you commands to give you the fullness of life.”

Huff went on to apologize for ways the church has made those who have sinned sexually feel like damaged goods. She offered up the example of a pastor giving a demonstration of a rose which he passed out to be plucked by audience members. By the time the rose returned to the pastor, it was irreparably damaged. “I just want to say, like if you believed that analogy, I am so genuinely sorry,” Huff said. The two also cautioned about the church’s tendency to turn sex into a dirty thing. “It was taught as something bad or something dirty in some ways. And so they come into a marriage, and they don’t even know how to be free—to receive it or enjoy sex,” said Korie. The two underlined God’s redemptive power to heal those who have sinned sexually and the hope for a redeemed sex life with their future spouse. “The power of the cross can redeem all things,” said Sadie.