The contemporary non-Christian legalist

Contemporary men and women are every bit as much "works driven" as their ancestors were, even if they fail to have the proper fear of God as judge. Indeed, they are even more burdened than people in the past for the very reason that they see themselves as their own judges. They carry the weight of establishing worth within themselves.

(p.187, Mark C. Mattes, The Role of Justification in Contemporary Theology)