Is this distinction of biblical "love" terminology compatible with scripture?

I very frequently hear repeated that there are three Greek words (or word-groups, more precisely) that are translated into the same English word "love"; the words being _ἀγάπη_, _φιλíα_, and _ἔρως_. _ἔρως_ is said to refer to sexual love, _φιλíα_ to a non-sexual "brotherly love" that is not specific to Christians and _ἀγάπη_ to the highest form of love that only a Christian can know. However, I've never heard any backing for this claim and have a sneaking suspicion that this is one of those things that gets passed around pastoral circles without getting checked out. The problem lies, of course, when one imports the distinction into his/her exegesis and extracts a meaning that may not be present. For example, if _φιλíα_ is used rather than _ἀγάπη_ in a particular passage, one might conclude that less is being required. So, my question is, are the semantic ranges of these words as rigid as is claimed, and are the definitions consistent with what is intended in scripture?